makernexuswiki - User contributions [en]

MeshCore

2026-08-09T14:43:36Z

Jschrempp: /* V17.0 Notes */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

If you want to know about LoRa radio things, go [[Mesh_Networks|here]].

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

There is a Python version that runs on RPi class hardware. Called [https://docs.openhop.dev/projects/openhop-core/ OpenHop]

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.io Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://swaits.github.io/meshcore-spec/latest/ Protocol Specification]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== V17.0 Notes ===

The Heltec V4 reported a much higher noise floor after update from v16 to v17.0. The suggestion was:
:FEM LNA was turned off in 1.16
:set radio.fem.rxgain off
:However, "The 'set radio.fem.rxgain off' setting is not persisted. After a reboot the rxgain is back to on. This should be persisted." See [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/issues/3150 Github issue 3150.] [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/pull/3137 issue 3157]

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
==== Station G2 ====
Transmit power of 10 = 1 watt

If the G2 experiences a brief power outage it will come back in a low power state (all the LEDs are not lit up). Power it down for 60 seconds or so, then power it up.

The G2 pulls a lot of power. Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not and the three LEDs will not light up, showing that the power amplifier is not working.

Update a G2 over WiFi:
1) download the non merged firmware binary on your phone or computer. Do this with [https://flasher.meshcore.io flasher.meshcore.io]
2) connect to a companion and then log in to the repeater via the mesh
3) open the command line and type "start ota" - note the web address provided. The G2 will become a WiFi access point.
4) on phone or computer, connect to the Meshcore-OTA wifi
5) use a browser to go to the provided web address from step 3
6) choose the binary file downloaded in step 1 - it will reboot automatically

==== Heltec V4 ====
Transmit power of 22 = 650 mW

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not. You won't know it, but you won't be transmitting at 650 mW. You can see this yourself with a USB current monitor. Hook it up and then send a message. You should see the current jump up considerably. If not, your power supply is not strong enough.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: Setup Advice
: You can't do better than [https://bayareameshcore.org/repeater-setup/ this]

: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

: Loop Prevention. If a path has a loop in it (1a, e6, 9f, e6, 9f, 2c) messages loop around. In single byte paths this kind of thing might be legitimate because different routers could have the same byte id. Going to two or three byte path modes makes these collisions unlikely. Repeaters can be set to stop loops with loop.detect. The values show how many times a given id is allowed in a path. For example, minimal allows 4 duplicates in a 1-byte path, 2 duplicates in a 2-byte path, and no duplicates in a 3-byte path: minimal is 4,2,1; moderate is 2,1,1; strict is 1,1,1.
: set loop.detect moderate

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

None at this time. Add an item if you can't find the answer.

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-08-09T14:35:56Z

Jschrempp: /* V17.0 Notes */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

If you want to know about LoRa radio things, go [[Mesh_Networks|here]].

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

There is a Python version that runs on RPi class hardware. Called [https://docs.openhop.dev/projects/openhop-core/ OpenHop]

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.io Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://swaits.github.io/meshcore-spec/latest/ Protocol Specification]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== V17.0 Notes ===

The Heltec V4 reported a much higher noise floor after update from v16 to v17.0. The suggestion was:
:FEM LNA was turned off in 1.16
:set radio.fem.rxgain off
:However, "The 'set radio.fem.rxgain off' setting is not persisted. After a reboot the rxgain is back to on. This should be persisted." See [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/issues/3150 Github issue.]

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
==== Station G2 ====
Transmit power of 10 = 1 watt

If the G2 experiences a brief power outage it will come back in a low power state (all the LEDs are not lit up). Power it down for 60 seconds or so, then power it up.

The G2 pulls a lot of power. Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not and the three LEDs will not light up, showing that the power amplifier is not working.

Update a G2 over WiFi:
1) download the non merged firmware binary on your phone or computer. Do this with [https://flasher.meshcore.io flasher.meshcore.io]
2) connect to a companion and then log in to the repeater via the mesh
3) open the command line and type "start ota" - note the web address provided. The G2 will become a WiFi access point.
4) on phone or computer, connect to the Meshcore-OTA wifi
5) use a browser to go to the provided web address from step 3
6) choose the binary file downloaded in step 1 - it will reboot automatically

==== Heltec V4 ====
Transmit power of 22 = 650 mW

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not. You won't know it, but you won't be transmitting at 650 mW. You can see this yourself with a USB current monitor. Hook it up and then send a message. You should see the current jump up considerably. If not, your power supply is not strong enough.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: Setup Advice
: You can't do better than [https://bayareameshcore.org/repeater-setup/ this]

: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

: Loop Prevention. If a path has a loop in it (1a, e6, 9f, e6, 9f, 2c) messages loop around. In single byte paths this kind of thing might be legitimate because different routers could have the same byte id. Going to two or three byte path modes makes these collisions unlikely. Repeaters can be set to stop loops with loop.detect. The values show how many times a given id is allowed in a path. For example, minimal allows 4 duplicates in a 1-byte path, 2 duplicates in a 2-byte path, and no duplicates in a 3-byte path: minimal is 4,2,1; moderate is 2,1,1; strict is 1,1,1.
: set loop.detect moderate

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

None at this time. Add an item if you can't find the answer.

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-08-09T14:34:07Z

Jschrempp: /* V17.0 Notes */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

If you want to know about LoRa radio things, go [[Mesh_Networks|here]].

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

There is a Python version that runs on RPi class hardware. Called [https://docs.openhop.dev/projects/openhop-core/ OpenHop]

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.io Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://swaits.github.io/meshcore-spec/latest/ Protocol Specification]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== V17.0 Notes ===

The Heltec V4 reported a much higher noise floor after update from v16 to v17.0. The suggestion was:
:FEM LNA was turned off in 1.16
:set radio.fem.rxgain off
:However, "The 'set radio.fem.rxgain off' setting is not persisted. After a reboot the rxgain is back to on. This should be persisted." See [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/issues/3145#issuecomment-5231394102 Github issue.]

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
==== Station G2 ====
Transmit power of 10 = 1 watt

If the G2 experiences a brief power outage it will come back in a low power state (all the LEDs are not lit up). Power it down for 60 seconds or so, then power it up.

The G2 pulls a lot of power. Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not and the three LEDs will not light up, showing that the power amplifier is not working.

Update a G2 over WiFi:
1) download the non merged firmware binary on your phone or computer. Do this with [https://flasher.meshcore.io flasher.meshcore.io]
2) connect to a companion and then log in to the repeater via the mesh
3) open the command line and type "start ota" - note the web address provided. The G2 will become a WiFi access point.
4) on phone or computer, connect to the Meshcore-OTA wifi
5) use a browser to go to the provided web address from step 3
6) choose the binary file downloaded in step 1 - it will reboot automatically

==== Heltec V4 ====
Transmit power of 22 = 650 mW

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not. You won't know it, but you won't be transmitting at 650 mW. You can see this yourself with a USB current monitor. Hook it up and then send a message. You should see the current jump up considerably. If not, your power supply is not strong enough.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: Setup Advice
: You can't do better than [https://bayareameshcore.org/repeater-setup/ this]

: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

: Loop Prevention. If a path has a loop in it (1a, e6, 9f, e6, 9f, 2c) messages loop around. In single byte paths this kind of thing might be legitimate because different routers could have the same byte id. Going to two or three byte path modes makes these collisions unlikely. Repeaters can be set to stop loops with loop.detect. The values show how many times a given id is allowed in a path. For example, minimal allows 4 duplicates in a 1-byte path, 2 duplicates in a 2-byte path, and no duplicates in a 3-byte path: minimal is 4,2,1; moderate is 2,1,1; strict is 1,1,1.
: set loop.detect moderate

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

None at this time. Add an item if you can't find the answer.

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-08-09T14:32:25Z

Jschrempp: /* Misc Info */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

If you want to know about LoRa radio things, go [[Mesh_Networks|here]].

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

There is a Python version that runs on RPi class hardware. Called [https://docs.openhop.dev/projects/openhop-core/ OpenHop]

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.io Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://swaits.github.io/meshcore-spec/latest/ Protocol Specification]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== V17.0 Notes ===

The Heltec V4 reported a much higher noise floor after update from v16 to v17.0. The suggestion was:
:FEM LNA was turned off in 1.16
:set radio.fem.rxgain off

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
==== Station G2 ====
Transmit power of 10 = 1 watt

If the G2 experiences a brief power outage it will come back in a low power state (all the LEDs are not lit up). Power it down for 60 seconds or so, then power it up.

The G2 pulls a lot of power. Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not and the three LEDs will not light up, showing that the power amplifier is not working.

Update a G2 over WiFi:
1) download the non merged firmware binary on your phone or computer. Do this with [https://flasher.meshcore.io flasher.meshcore.io]
2) connect to a companion and then log in to the repeater via the mesh
3) open the command line and type "start ota" - note the web address provided. The G2 will become a WiFi access point.
4) on phone or computer, connect to the Meshcore-OTA wifi
5) use a browser to go to the provided web address from step 3
6) choose the binary file downloaded in step 1 - it will reboot automatically

==== Heltec V4 ====
Transmit power of 22 = 650 mW

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not. You won't know it, but you won't be transmitting at 650 mW. You can see this yourself with a USB current monitor. Hook it up and then send a message. You should see the current jump up considerably. If not, your power supply is not strong enough.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: Setup Advice
: You can't do better than [https://bayareameshcore.org/repeater-setup/ this]

: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

: Loop Prevention. If a path has a loop in it (1a, e6, 9f, e6, 9f, 2c) messages loop around. In single byte paths this kind of thing might be legitimate because different routers could have the same byte id. Going to two or three byte path modes makes these collisions unlikely. Repeaters can be set to stop loops with loop.detect. The values show how many times a given id is allowed in a path. For example, minimal allows 4 duplicates in a 1-byte path, 2 duplicates in a 2-byte path, and no duplicates in a 3-byte path: minimal is 4,2,1; moderate is 2,1,1; strict is 1,1,1.
: set loop.detect moderate

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

None at this time. Add an item if you can't find the answer.

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

3D Printing and Modeling

2026-08-07T14:35:54Z

Jschrempp: /* Museums and Government Models */

{{About|3D printing and modeling|at the Maker Nexus makerspace in Sunnyvale, CA|[[MN 3D Printers]]}}

= What is 3D printing? =

The two popular versions of 3D printing are:

* '''Building with plastic filament.''' Filament Deposition Modeling (FDM) uses spools of thick plastic thread. This filament passes into a printing head which heats it to a liquid state, then carefully drops it onto the build surface or onto parts of the model. Models are built from the bottom up as the head moves up (or the bed moves down). This method isn't too messy but there can be dangerous fumes with some filament materials.
* '''Curing plastic with a laser.''' A platen is submerged in a vat of resin and a laser shines onto the platen to harden the plastic. Models are built upside down as the platen is pulled up out of the vat. You have to be careful with the liquid resin, and you have to wash the model in alcohol after printing.

In both cases, a hard plastic part is created. You can use a flexible filament or add flex joints into your model to give it movement.

Because the models are constructed with thin layers, they take hours (or days!) to create your part. It's best to plan your project with smaller parts so if the printing doesn't succeed then you don't have to reprint the whole part.

= Safety =

There are more [https://makernexuswiki.com/wiki/MN_Safety safety considerations] than what's listed here. But these are some things we have learned:

== In general ==

3D printing is one of the ''few cases'' where you can start a job and then walk away as it is running. The likelihood of a part (or machine) catching on fire is not as high, provided the machine is in good shape. It is more likely that your print fails and you end up with a spaghetti-like blob on the build plate.

* '''Safety should be the most important priority.''' Always look at the machines and the work area. If something doesn't feel right, stop. If you need help, ask someone or a staff member.
* '''Monitor your print in the beginning.''' It is a good idea to make sure that your print starts as expected. Once you are confident the part is building as expected, you can turn your attention elsewhere.

== Hazards from a hot build plate ==

* '''FDM printer beds can get quite hot.''' If you touch it briefly, you won't like it but you probably won't be burnt.

== Hazards from a hot nozzle ==

* '''FDM nozzles are ''very'' hot!''' The print head literally needs to liquify a solid filament quickly, so these parts should never be touched. They will definitely burn you, or drop hot liquid filament on you.

== Hazards from fumes ==

* '''Plastics like ABS have toxic fumes.''' Be aware that our 3D printers are in an open shared office, so you cannot print ABS. (Except for really small prints, and only in the enclosed printer.) PLA and PTEG are less toxic, but you still shouldn't breathe in their fumes.

== Hazards from a print falling over ==

* If the print falls sideways then the print head is printing in mid air. This usually creates a huge mess. Most messes won't damage the printer, but it may cause a blob to form on the print head.
* '''Use supports where needed.''' Support material is recommended, and almost required for tall or thin parts.

== Hazards from print head blobs ==

* A blob can clog the print nozzle or the printing mechanism. A super bad blob can destroy the print head.

= Materials =

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or1FP43zx3I Review of different filaments]

Prusa has a nice [https://help.prusa3d.com/en/materials materials guide] with interesting information.

== PLA ==

eSun PLA+ is recommended by several people.

Buying PLA online is typically moderate price and reliable.

== Recycling ==

We are often asked about recycling scrap filament. The short story is that we don't.

[https://printcycle.org/ Print Cycle] is a non-profit that recycles 3D printing scrap!

Some companies that recycle plastic have concerns about taking in 3D printed scraps:

# They don't know what additives are in the filament
# They worry that the consumer (or Maker Nexus) will mix types of plastic

This kind of contamination would hurt the purity of their end product, so they are unwilling to accept post-consumer scraps.

There are places that make filament from recycled prints, but they use scrap that they generate so they know its composition. Prusa has [https://blog.prusa3d.com/10-tips-for-saving-filament-money-and-environment_71415/ two interesting] [https://blog.prusa3d.com/prusa-recycling-world-map_83216/ blog posts] about this, and a [https://world.prusa3d.com world map] that shows recycling centers. None are currently in California.

There is a place that [https://recyclingfabrik.com sells recycled filament].

You should not place filament or failed prints in your community recycling stream -- they are not equipped to recycle these materials, and contaminating their batches (if they fail to separate out the materials properly) can render tons of plastic destined for the landfill. Yes, throwing it in the trash is unfortunate, but hobbyist 3D printing is a very small amount of the plastic ecosystem. See [https://indepak.com/pet-petg-plastic-6-facts-need-know/#:~:text=If%20PET%20AND%20PETG%20are,of%20packaging%2C%20and%20here's%20why. this article from a plastic recycling company] for more.

= Find a Model =

== User Contributed Models ==
* [https://www.thingiverse.com Thingiverse] has a wide variety of .STL files to download and use. A great source of ideas. Hosted by Ultimaker, and probably has the largest number of designs.

* [https://www.printables.com/ Printables] is hosted by Prusa.

* [https://thangs.com Thangs] has a lot of models. You can keep yours private. It has some collaboration tools and an interesting version control system for your models.

* [https://grabcad.com/library GrabCAD] is another interesting group of more professional looking models. Includes models of common parts that you can include in your designs. For example, all the Arduino boards are available.

* [https://makerworld.com/en Maker World] is a site that is hosted by Bambu Labs.

* [https://cults3d.com/en Cults 3D] has a lot of high-quality designs, but beware that many will be paid designs. (In my experience, the paid designs are generally inexpensive and high quality. [[User:DavidTomaschik|DavidTomaschik]] ([[User talk:DavidTomaschik|talk]]) 14:05, 3 March 2025 (EST))

== Museums and Government Models ==

* [https://www.myminifactory.com/users/nationalmuseumswe National Museum of Sweden] has scanned their collection of sculpture.

* [https://3d.si.edu/collections The Smithsonian Museum] has many interesting models. Natural history and man-made - anyone want to 3D print a copy of the Apollo Command Module escape hatch?

* [https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/models NASA] has files for their space craft, asteroids, planetary surfaces, and more.

* [http://jthatch.com/Terrain2STL/ Terrain To STL] will generate a surface mesh of anywhere in the world. There is simple [https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-3D-Print-Topographic-Maps-and-Terrains/ Instructable on how to use it].

* [https://cadmapper.com/ CADMAPPER] will give you terrain AND the buildings that are on it.

== Other Interesting Sites ==

* [https://deckinabox.sgenoud.com/token-tray-fdm Board Game] accessory holders, easy tool to design your own.

== Models for Purchase ==
* [https://www.cgtrader.com/ CGTrader] Lots of models for purchase, including a number of celebrity heads.

TIP: If you have a virtual reality headset, you can import your model to AltspaceVR and interact with it in VR! [[Virtual_Reality#Your_model_in_VR | We have some instructions on how to do this]].

= Get Your Model Printed =

== Own Your Own 3d Printer ==

Having your own printer gives you unlimited time. But you also must be willing to care for the machine. At Maker Nexus we use the Prusa MK3s printers. During our [https://www.makernexus.org/covid-shield-nexus COVID response] they ran continuously for months without a problem. [[3D_Printers|Or join Maker Nexus and use our printers!]]

== Your local Makerspace ==
You're on this wiki, why not join your [[Maker Spaces|local community makerspace]]?

== By Mail ==
If you search the internet for "3d printing service" you will find many that will print your model and send it to you.

= Modeling Software =

== Parametric Modeling ==
Parametric modeling allows you to specify constraints on your designs. One constraint is the length (dimensions) of your design and that makes it easy to adjust the dimensions later. You can also specify angles, tangents, co-linearity, and much more. Some solutions actually require that you dimension everything. One issue for the newby is that when you have only a few constraints and change one the software might "solve" your geometry in a way that you did not anticipate - you use the Undo button a lot until you get used to it. Once you understand constraint use it is very powerful.

* [https://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/fusion-360-for-hobbyists Fusion 360 parametric modeling] for hobbyist and very small businesses. This is a very powerful professional, yet easy to learn, modeling tool. All your designs can be dimensioned which makes it easy to go back and say, "I want this wall to be 23mm instead of 22" and see the whole model regenerate. You can export an .STL file for import into a Slicer. We have a page of [[Fusion 360|Fusion 360 tips]].

* [https://www.freecadweb.org/ FreeCAD] is an open source alternative to Fusion360. It is very powerful but a bit quirkier than Fusion360. If you enjoy open source software, this will do a very good job for you.

* [https://cad.onshape.com/signin OnShape] is a browser based solution. It works a lot like Fusion 360. The free version makes your models open-source. That might be a problem if you're doing a work thing, but if you're just a hobbyist then why not share your designs with the world?

* [https://openscad.org/ OpenSCAD] is a text based parametric modeling solution. They offer a GUI to help you make a well formed modeling file, but the basic file is all text based. You specify objects and locations in space, and boolean operations on them, and more. It's like the MarkUp language of 3D modeling. Some people swear by it because they can know exactly what's going on - no fancy GUI to hide operations from you. You can make extremely sophisticated models with this.

* [https://github.com/SolidCode/SolidPython Solid Python] is a Python library that generates valid OpenSCAD files. If you want to write your own program to generate models in OpenSCAD, try this.

== Organic Modeling ==
This is when you are making some lifelike part. A little figure, a model of a hand, a free form art work. These don't have constraints, you just grab parts of the mesh and pull it into a new position.

* MeshMixer for creating and editing STL files is now part of the Autodesk suite and is included in Fusion360.

* Blender - Used by artists and modelers the world over. A very, very powerful open source application. I tried to use it but felt like a guy who's driven an old car now sitting in a jet fighter trying to fly the thing. Wow. I've seen spectacular things come out of Blender, but not from my hand.

== Simple Modeling ==

These solutions are the easiest to use and are a good place to start if you just want to make something quickly.

* [https://www.sketchup.com/ SketchUp] offers a free version that is very popular with hobbyists. The easy user interface allows one to quickly construct objects. They can be constrained, but that is a bit more work.

* [https://www.tinkercad.com/ TinkerCAD] is so easy that kids can use it right away.

== 3D Scanning ==

If you want to duplicate some thing, there are several ways to create an STL file of that thing.

* High Quality Laser Scanners - Can cost a couple of thousand dollars, but do a great job at capturing fine detail. I've used the Next Engine 3D Scanner to duplicate an old drawer pull with many features.

* Low Cost Laser Scanners - Can cost a couple of hundred dollars and can do a good job on items that have moderate detail. Some of them are do-it-yourself kits. I'm told they can be finicky to get aligned. Search the internet for "3D scanner".

* True Depth Camera - If your smart phone has a camera that reports depth, apps are available to create a model. I've used [http://standardcyborg.com Create 3D by Standard Cyborg] (free) on my iPhone 12 to get superb results. The iPhone 12 only has true depth on the front facing camera, which is awkward for capturing a object other than your face. However, I took several scans and stitched them together with [https://www.meshlab.net/ MeshLab] (free) and the result was exceptional.

* Photogrammetry - This software constructs a 3D model from a bunch of photos. If you want a model of a teapot, you circle the object taking a hundred overlapping photos. You can use this software to construct a much bigger item like a whole house, a room, or even an archaeological site. The more high quality photos, the better the detail. Two I've used are [http://regard3d.org Regard 3D ](free) and [https://www.agisoft.com/ Agisoft Metashape] (free demo mode).

== Cellphone True Depth Camera ==

* Capture 3D: Scan Anything
[http://standardcyborg.com Capture 3D] runs on smart phones with true depth cameras. (The front facing camera on iPhones, for example.) Scanning your face is dead easy and you see the model right on your phone. As you move the phone you need to keep the object mostly in view - makes sense. If you don't, the process stops and you get a model of what you've scanned so far. Since this is just the front facing camera it is a bit tricky to get an object all in one scan.

To use the model requires some post processing. You go to Standard Cyborg's web site and download the models you have created as "point clouds." Then use software like the free MeshLab to stitch your point clouds together and create an STL file. Once you know how to use MeshLab the whole process is very easy.

== Photogrammetry ==

In 2024 a new open source scanner was introduced that shows great promise for smaller models. [https://en.openscan.eu/ OpenScan] is both software, 3D printed parts, and some hardware. [https://hackaday.com/2024/02/19/watch-the-openscan-diy-3d-scanner-in-action/ A review of the scanner.]

I've tried two software apps on my Mac and both did the job. I walked around a person in a chair and took about 140 overlapping photos. After an hour of processing I got a model of the person and also much of the room behind them. The resolution of the model's face was far below that of the true depth camera work, so I did not follow up on these packages.

* [http://regard3d.org Regard 3D ](free) is an open source solution with a gajillion options. I eventually read their documentation and followed what it recommended. It didn't work for my project until I selected L1 for both options on camera triangulation. Then I got nice results. It is a few years old and the database did not have my iPhone model in it. At first I blamed my guessing at the missing "sensor size" parameter for my bad results, but in the end my guess of 5mm seemed to work as well as the commercial software did on the same photo set.

* [https://www.agisoft.com/ Agisoft Metashape] (free demo mode) I'm not sure how long the demo mode lasts, but this did pretty much what Regard 3D did but without all the worries. I could click each step in the processing pipeline and the software just did it. In the end the result was not that different from Regard 3D, but I did not closely compare the output.

== Generative Design ==

Software that takes an idea of what you want and creates a model for you is called Generative Design. It is a new and quickly evolving field.

* [https://www.luban3d.com/ Luban] software is like a Swiss Army knife of 3D meshes. Create a mesh from a photograph. Slice a mesh into layers. Use two images to make a two shadow cube. Some amazing stuff.

* Fusion 360 also does generative design in the paid version. For instance you might have one sketch of the mounting points on the top of a drone, and another sketch floating above that with the mounting points of a small web camera. You select the two and tell Fusion to connect the two with some structure. It generates wild organic shapes that you would never think to do.

== Point Cloud and Mesh Software ==

Sometimes your scanning software will only give you a point cloud and not a mesh. Or you'll want to manipulate the mesh a bit to remove artifacts. In my case I had three point clouds from a scan of a head. I needed to align them, create the mesh, and export it.

* [http://meshlab.net MeshLab download] This is some fabulous open source software. I tried fooling around with it and got frustrated until I found a fabulous step-by-step tutorial that told me exactly what was needed. I could now do the process again in just a few minutes. The tutorial is [http://www.heritagedoc.pt/doc/Meshlab_Tutorial_iitd.pdf on the web]. We also have a copy in the [https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1vhhkMohQiRlBn_dQExRohMpAh29jXi2e MN Members Drive]

I found a mesh was difficult to deal with in Fusion360. Fusion360 has a mesh to BREP feature, but that left me with a ton of triangles and I still had trouble manipulating it. Their community recommended a paid feature to convert a mesh to quads, but then another recommended a free tool:

* [https://github.com/wjakob/instant-meshes Instant Meshes] converts an .OBJ file to a quad mesh.

Fusion360 can be difficult to understand when using a mesh or a surface or a tspline object. Here are some things to remember:

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHtu3CDcZkU convert a mesh to a BREP]

Meshmixer can be used to [https://help.autodesk.com/view/MSHMXR/2019/ENU/?guid=GUID-749E6C72-D82B-4FA9-A157-1AE612B779AE make a surface stl file into a water tight model]

= Printer Control Software =

== Slicers ==

Slicers take your .STL model and do the work to generate GCode that can be sent to a 3D printer.

* [https://www.prusa3d.com/prusaslicer/ Prusa Slicer] is a great tool for your needs. It provides a lot of control over the slicing, grouped into simple, advanced, expert. There are a large number of settings - visit our [[Prusa Slicer | Prusa Slicer Tips]] page.

* [https://slic3r.org/ Slic3r] is the software that Prusa built their slicer on top of. Open source, you may find that leading edge features are here before they appear in the Prusa Slicer.

* [[Prusa Slicer and XL MMU]] has tips and tricks as we learn to use the 5 extruder MMU.

== Remote Control and Monitoring ==

* [https://octoprint.org/ Octoprint] Runs on a Raspberry Pi and, depending on your printer, will let you monitor and remotely control the print. With a camera attached to the RPi you can watch your print from anywhere and intervene if there's a problem.

= Maintenance and Troubleshooting =

== Troubleshooting software ==

* [https://www.pronterface.com/ Pronterface] runs on your laptop and sends commands to your 3D printer from a graphical user interface. It can be very helpful in diagnosing issues with your printer.

== Calibrate the Extruder ==
[https://all3dp.com/2/extruder-calibration-6-easy-steps-2/ An interesting article] on calibrating the extruder on a 3D printer. The basic steps are to ask the printer to extrude a specific amount of filament, measure the actual amount of filament used, then adjust the extruder constant (steps per mm of filament used) to reflect the actual value. Then remeasure. On one printer, I found the default was extruding 102.5mm when it was supposed to be extruding 100. I think this was making rough top layers on my prints. It can also affect what you think is the correct height adjustment for the first layer if you rely on a printed patch that you feel for smoothness. The linked article walks through the process, including a couple of g-codes you need to be able to send to do run the test and set the adjustment.

= Techniques =

== Tips on Printing ==

A very good [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_ZGZe-pbTI video about support material] and how you can optimize it.

How to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKrDUnZCmQQ make box lids that fit]

== Other sites ==

[https://www.3dhubs.com/talk/thread/best-printing-practices-makerbot-replicator-2-and-2x Best Practices at 3D Hub].

[https://www.prusaprinters.org/how-to-print-maps-terrains-and-landscapes-on-a-3d-printer/ How to get and print a 3D landscape of anywhere]

[https://all3dp.com/2/annealing-pla-prints-for-strength-easy-ways/ Annealing your printed PLA model] can dramatically increase its strength.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kbjZobJtbM 3D print your own filament] to give you new colors or variegation. Then print with your own custom filament.

[http://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/S62.12/people/vernelle.noel/Plastic_Snap_fit_design.pdf Design of snap joints in plastic.] A great reference.

[https://bumpmesh.com/ Bumpmesh] adds textures to your model's surfaces. Really cool.

== Ceilings in your model ==

The MakerBot software defaults do NOT do a good job at putting roofs over some parts. To correct this you need to modify your device settings. Look for the "create a profile" button. First select the correct device, material, etc. Now click Create A Profile. Give it a name. It will now open in Notepad. Look for the setting of "roofThickness". Set it to 3.

You could try changing "roofLayerCount_disabled" to "roofLayerCount_enabled". I have not tried that.

== Design Tips ==

[https://m.all3dp.com/2/engineering-tolerance-definition-drawing/ Designing for tolerance in your printing process] A good discussion of part tolerances with FDM printing and how to include these tolerances in your design.

[https://hackaday.com/2022/05/01/bend-your-prints-to-eliminate-supports/ Avoid supports] by designing your model to be folded.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI8OgRRF5d8 Dovetail joints] in 3D printing. A nice overview of the technique.

[https://youtube.com/watch?v=YnaUSkiGOOE&is=P7KetP7A6Na1LzpH Using binder clip] as a spring in your design.

== Surface Finishing ==

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4e9JJkinvk Card scrapers] can make your surfaces smooth faster than sanding.

[https://youtu.be/KVf0mbBCygQ?si=N7xPGp12x__m-td- UV Resin and cornstarch] for a mirror smooth finish

== Clever or Interesting Projects ==

[https://youtu.be/y0Q9F-73Tio?si=TcSwX_rXQepxuO-P&t=149 Dual text illusion made with Fusion 360]

Supply Sources for Materials and Services

2026-07-31T22:01:32Z

Jschrempp: /* Kelly Spicers (was Kelly Paper) */

We have a little [[MN Retail|supplies store]] near the Main Entrance, but you will of course need more! Here is a list of local and online sources for materials and what we've bought there, at what price. Use this forum when the material is not specific to a particular device.

== General Suppliers ==
* [https://www.ponoko.com/make-and-sell/materials Ponoko] sells a range of laserable materials.
* [https://www.inventables.com/categories/materials Inventables] lots of maker suitable materials, many are not laser safe.
* [http://ikea.com Ikea] sells lots of small wooden items (spoons, coat hangers, wood cutting boards, etc) that can be laser etched as great gifts.
* [https://makerstock.com Makerstock] sells all kinds of materials.

== Plastics ==

Acrylic: Cast and Extruded.
* '''Cast''' has a more uniform size and will produce a better raster effect.
* '''Extruded''' works well for cutting; thickness can vary a bit across the sheet.
* '''Cast''' has a paper protection on both sides that can be removed after lasering.
* '''Extruded''' comes with a PVC plastic protection layer on both sides that needs to be removed before lasering. Commonly comes in 3mm, 6mm, and thicker.

''Note: be sure to clarify if plastics are laserable if you intend to laser cut them at Maker Nexus!''

===[https://www.calsakplastics.com Calsak Plastics]===
* Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, etc.

===[http://www.delviesplastics.com Delvie's Plastics]===
* Online store
* Source for Cast Acrylic sheets, 1/16" thick to 2" thick. They also carry badge pins and clips.
* Delvie's Plastics is a full line distributor of Rowmark Engraving Materials

===[https://houstonacrylic.com/ Houston Acrylic]===
* Specializes in laserable materials

===[https://www.piedmontplastics.com Piedmont Plastics]===
* San Francisco, etc.
* 33340 Central Avenue, Union City CA 94587
* 510-746-2200
* Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM

===[https://www.professionalplastics.com Professional Plastics]===
* 2175 Kruse Dr., San Jose, CA 95131-1214
* 408-434-9410, 800-523-2807
* Mon-Fri: 8AM-5PM

===[https://portplastics.com Port Plastics]===
* 550 E. Trimble Road #A, San Jose, CA 95131
* 408-571-2231
* Mon-Fri: 7AM-4PM

===[https://www.tapplastics.com TAP Plastics]===
* Fremont, San Jose, San Leandro, San Mateo, San Francisco, etc.
* A large selection of acrylic plastic, both cast and extruded.
* Usually have a bin of remainder odd size pieces for a few bucks each. They also sell a lot of other plastic products that are not laser safe.
* Ask them before buying something besides acrylic.
* San Jose store:
** 1212 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126
** 408-292-8685
** Mon-Fri 8:30AM-5:30PM
** Sat: 9AM-5PM

===[https://www.usplastic.com U.S. Plastic]===
* Good source of sheet plastic. They ship it rolled up in a tube. I cut the roll on the power shear at TechShop.
* Sytrene0.030 40x72 $10 + $10 shipping
* PET-G (Vivak)0.040 24x48 $18 + $10 shipping
* 800-537-9724

== Wood & Veneers ==

===[https://www.brucebauer.com Bruce Bauer Lumber & Supply]===
* 134 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View, CA 94040
* They will cut boards down for you (so long as the remainder of the board is sufficiently long)
* Mon-Fri 7AM-5PM
* Sat 8AM-4:30PM

===[https://exoticwoodzone.com/ Exotic Wood Zone]===
* Interesting woods such as guitar wood

===[https://www.globalwoodsource.com Global Wood Source]===
* 180 East Sunnyoaks Ave Building #3, Campbell, CA 95008
* Mon-Fri 9AM-4PM
* Sat 9AM-3PM

===[https://hardwoods-inc.com/hardwoods-san-jose/ Hardwoods San Jose (aka Aura Hardwoods)]===
* San Jose and online
* 620 Quinn Ave, San Jose, CA, 95112
* Carries a full line of wood sheet goods, including Baltic Birch plywood, as well as an extensive selection of domestic and exotic hardwoods.
* If you take your Maker Nexus badge, and let them know that you are a member of MN, you will be able to use our pricing level.
* They are cool with you breaking down lumber in their parking lot and their carts make an OK workbench
* They also deliver orders over $350, so larger orders can potentially be delivered directly to MN.
* Coordinate with MN staff in advance to use this option or delivery will be refused.
Mon-Fri 8AM-4PM

===[https://makernexuswiki.com/index.php?title=Supply_Sources&action=edit The Home Depot]===
* Sunnyvale and many locations
* Precut 24x18 panels of several plywoods. Many have a nice finish on at least one side. If you want cheap stuff, look for "door skins" - thin plywood sanded on one side.
* The Sunnyvale location has great Endesa sanded plywood (Sandeply) and has been reliably flat
* Mon-Sat 6AM-10PM
* Sun 7AM-8PM

===[https://www.macbeath.com Macbeath Hardwood]===
* 930 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94710
* Mon-Fri 7:30AM-4:30PM
* Sat 9AM-3PM

===[https://mayanhardwood.com Mayan Hardwood]===
* Oxnard, Paso Robles.

===[https://moorenewton.com Moore Newton]===
* 2115 Williams St, San Leandro, CA 94577
* Mon-Fri 8AM-4:30PM
* They will do some cutting of lumber for you, but you can also cut it yourself in the parking lot
* They will do delivery to MN
* Coordinate with staff in advance to use this option or delivery will be refused.

===[https://ocoochhardwoods.com Ocooch Hardwoods]===
* Viola, WI

===[https://www.woodcraft.com/pages/store/san-carlos Woodcraft]===
* 40 El Camino Real, San Carlos, CA 94070
* Has a large selection of great woods. Some plywood panels, pre-cut
* Carries their Wood River brand of tools
* Mon-Fri 9AM-6PM
* Sat 9AM-5PM
* Sun 11AM-4PM

== Wood CNC and Tools ==

===[https://www.freudtools.com Freud]===
* End mills and other bits
* Lots of [https://www.freudtools.com/explore/router-cnc/joinery joinery bits]

===[https://www.itape.com Intertape Polymer Group (ipg)]===
* Good non-marking release double stick tape (double-sided tape) for CNC work holding, especially [https://www.itape.com/product/591/ IPG 591] double-coated flatback tape

===[https://www.whitesiderouterbits.com Whiteside Machine Company]===
* End mills and other bits for CNC and routers

== Wood Services ==

=== Sharpening and Honing ===

Sharpening and honing for chisels, saw blades, and more.

* [https://acmesawshop.com/ Acme Saw Shop]

== Metal Structure ==

=== Aluminum Extrusion ===

====[https://us.misumi-ec.com/ Misumi]====
* These folks specialize in parts that can be configured at the time of order. I found them referred to from some web sites as a low cost source of accurately cut aluminum frame parts - 2020, 2040, 4080, 2525, etc - just about any size member that is made. You can order cut to length, but also with holes at locations you define and stuff like that. You can also buy stuff like a plate with four holes. You specify all the specs of size of plate, location of holes, size of holes, etc. It's like they've made a bunch of parametric designs and provided a web-interface that lets your specify the parameters and them to set a cost. Cool, cool, cool. These guys are also the referenced "best quality" linear guide rails. But pricing is about 5X a part you can buy from China.

=== Bearings ===
A specification for "all possible bearings" is the [https://drive.google.com/drive/u/3/folders/1Tjw7rG10pfDGDbMKdjtABqIrwmNcHksO NTN Bearing Corporation catalog] available on our member share drive.

* This [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NZ5PPHH Amazon seller] has a lot of smaller bearings.
* There are also Amazon sellers with multiple regular bearing sizes.

=== Aluminum Posts ===
[https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Aluminum-12-13mm-Seamless-Straight/dp/B07YKWJJGD Amazon seller] with a drop down for lots of sizes.

== All Metals ==

===[https://industrialmetalsupply.com Industrial Metal Supply (IMS)]===
* 569 Charcot Ave. San Jose, CA 95131
* Formerly Campbell Metal
* Full-range metal supplier. Large selection of aluminum plate/bar remnants in their “rem center” (~$3.50/lb, $35 minimum).

===[https://www.ondrivesus.com Ondrives]===
* Online
* Rods, fasteners, and other tools like clutches and couplings

===[https://www.simsmm.com/locations/san-jose-california/ Sims Metal San Jose]===
* 1800 Monterey Highway, San Jose, CA 95112
* Scrap metal buyer and reseller.
* Mon-Fri 7AM-4PM
* Sat 8AM-12PM

===[https://www.yelp.com/biz/alan-steel-and-supply-redwood-city Alan Steel Redwood City]===
* 505 E Bayshore Rd Redwood City, CA 94063
* Primarily a scrap/salvage yard, with a large selection of steel of all kinds and smaller selection of other materials.
* Prices can be arbitrary, but the selection is unbeatable.
* Mon-Thu 8AM-4PM

===[https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/location/san-jose/ Metal Supermarkets]===
* 2413 Zanker Rd, San Jose, CA 95131
* A franchise.
* Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM
* Sat 8AM-1PM

===[https://coastaluminum.com/ Coast Aluminum, Inc.]===
* Hayward, Fresno, etc.
* 30551 Huntwood Avenue, Hayward, CA 94544

== Metal Parts Cut to Order ==

===[http://fabworks.com Fabworks]===
* On-demand sheet metal services.
* Laser Cutting, Bending, Hardware, Countersinking, Tapping, and Powder Coating for Aluminum, Steel, and Stainless sheet metal.
* Upload a .STEP file (e.g. output from OnShape or Fusion 360), and get instant quotes (with excellent prices). Turnaround time is quick, and there's free shipping too.

===[http://SendCutSend.com Send Cut Send]===
* You upload a DXF file, pick the material and get an instant quote.
They cut it and send it with free shipping. Laser cut metal, plastics, and composites.

===[https://www.xometry.com/ Xometry]===

== Paper and Cardboard ==

===[https://kellyspicers.com Kelly Spicers (was Kelly Paper)]===
* San Jose
* Wide selection of paper stock, corrugated cardboard, paperboard
* Also foam, cardboard sheets and boxes, packing materials
* Works well on our laser cutters, hot wire cutter
* Thick linen paper is really nice to cut
* Mon-Fri 7:30AM-5PM

== 3D printer filament ==

===[https://www.esun3d.com/ eSun]===

Available directly from them and on Amazon. PLA+ and PETG+ have been very reliable. Packaging is good.

===[https://www.matterhackers.com/ MatterHackers]===

===[https://www.prusa3d.com/category/prusament/ Prusament]===

PLA, PTEG are reliable

===[https://www.printedsolid.com/collections/filament Printed Solid]===

Sells Prusament and Jessie

== Electronics Parts ==

===LED strips===
* [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=meijiajia+led+neon+strip+lights&crid=12E4VSKLOUF2Y&sprefix=meijiajia%2Caps%2C186&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_9 Neon LED strips], like the one used in our "[https://app.amilia.com/store/en/makernexus/shop/activities/5776275 Make an LED Neon Sign]" class
* [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cuttable+12V+LED+strip&crid=36ISWSZ4II4AD&sprefix=cuttable+12v+led+stri%2Caps%2C150&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 Cuttable 12V LED strip lighting]

== Fittings ==
Hinges, locks, pen parts, etc

===[https://www.brusso.com/hinges/ Brusso]===

===[https://www.mcmaster.com McMaster Carr]===
The world of all the fasteners you didn't know you needed including:
* Machine screws, including metric screws
* Thumb screws
* Metal rods
* Springs, pins, and anchors
* Magnets
* Pipe adapters
* Tools

== Sewing, Quilting, Textiles ==

===[https://allstitch.com/ AllStitch]===

===[https://rnk-floriani.com/ Floriani]===

===[https://redrockthreads.com/ Red Rock Threads]===

===[https://mobile.sewmanyparts.com/ Sew Many Parts]===
* Good Madeira thread

== Embroidery Designs==

===[https://emblibrary.com/# Embroidery Library]===

===[https://urbanthreads.com/index.php# Urban Threads]===

===[https://www.wawak.com/ WAWAK]===

== Interesting Bits ==
Things that you might not know you need.

* LED sign standoffs can be used to illuminate etched acrylic. [https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07CMMZF3T/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ePHjEbAFYJVB5 On Amazon]

* Tamper Resistant nuts and bolts. What a wild assortment of clever ideas. Some are similar to security by obscurity - special tools needed.
[https://www.mcmaster.com/products/fasteners/?s=tamper+resistant+fasteners on McMaster Carr]

===[https://www.grimco.com/Catalog/Category/Substrates Grimco substrates]===
* Various materials like aluminum, magnetic, and sign blanks
* Including [https://www.orafol.com/en/americas/products/oracal-651-intermediate-cal Oracal vinyl]

===[https://signwarehouse.com/ Sign Warehouse]===
* including [https://signwarehouse.com/collections/3m-printable-vinyl-wraps-and-supplies 3M printable vinyl]

== Search Keywords ==
Metal Stores

Supply Sources for Materials and Services

2026-07-31T22:01:12Z

Jschrempp: /* Kelly Spicers (was Kelly Paper) */

We have a little [[MN Retail|supplies store]] near the Main Entrance, but you will of course need more! Here is a list of local and online sources for materials and what we've bought there, at what price. Use this forum when the material is not specific to a particular device.

== General Suppliers ==
* [https://www.ponoko.com/make-and-sell/materials Ponoko] sells a range of laserable materials.
* [https://www.inventables.com/categories/materials Inventables] lots of maker suitable materials, many are not laser safe.
* [http://ikea.com Ikea] sells lots of small wooden items (spoons, coat hangers, wood cutting boards, etc) that can be laser etched as great gifts.
* [https://makerstock.com Makerstock] sells all kinds of materials.

== Plastics ==

Acrylic: Cast and Extruded.
* '''Cast''' has a more uniform size and will produce a better raster effect.
* '''Extruded''' works well for cutting; thickness can vary a bit across the sheet.
* '''Cast''' has a paper protection on both sides that can be removed after lasering.
* '''Extruded''' comes with a PVC plastic protection layer on both sides that needs to be removed before lasering. Commonly comes in 3mm, 6mm, and thicker.

''Note: be sure to clarify if plastics are laserable if you intend to laser cut them at Maker Nexus!''

===[https://www.calsakplastics.com Calsak Plastics]===
* Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, etc.

===[http://www.delviesplastics.com Delvie's Plastics]===
* Online store
* Source for Cast Acrylic sheets, 1/16" thick to 2" thick. They also carry badge pins and clips.
* Delvie's Plastics is a full line distributor of Rowmark Engraving Materials

===[https://houstonacrylic.com/ Houston Acrylic]===
* Specializes in laserable materials

===[https://www.piedmontplastics.com Piedmont Plastics]===
* San Francisco, etc.
* 33340 Central Avenue, Union City CA 94587
* 510-746-2200
* Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM

===[https://www.professionalplastics.com Professional Plastics]===
* 2175 Kruse Dr., San Jose, CA 95131-1214
* 408-434-9410, 800-523-2807
* Mon-Fri: 8AM-5PM

===[https://portplastics.com Port Plastics]===
* 550 E. Trimble Road #A, San Jose, CA 95131
* 408-571-2231
* Mon-Fri: 7AM-4PM

===[https://www.tapplastics.com TAP Plastics]===
* Fremont, San Jose, San Leandro, San Mateo, San Francisco, etc.
* A large selection of acrylic plastic, both cast and extruded.
* Usually have a bin of remainder odd size pieces for a few bucks each. They also sell a lot of other plastic products that are not laser safe.
* Ask them before buying something besides acrylic.
* San Jose store:
** 1212 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126
** 408-292-8685
** Mon-Fri 8:30AM-5:30PM
** Sat: 9AM-5PM

===[https://www.usplastic.com U.S. Plastic]===
* Good source of sheet plastic. They ship it rolled up in a tube. I cut the roll on the power shear at TechShop.
* Sytrene0.030 40x72 $10 + $10 shipping
* PET-G (Vivak)0.040 24x48 $18 + $10 shipping
* 800-537-9724

== Wood & Veneers ==

===[https://www.brucebauer.com Bruce Bauer Lumber & Supply]===
* 134 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View, CA 94040
* They will cut boards down for you (so long as the remainder of the board is sufficiently long)
* Mon-Fri 7AM-5PM
* Sat 8AM-4:30PM

===[https://exoticwoodzone.com/ Exotic Wood Zone]===
* Interesting woods such as guitar wood

===[https://www.globalwoodsource.com Global Wood Source]===
* 180 East Sunnyoaks Ave Building #3, Campbell, CA 95008
* Mon-Fri 9AM-4PM
* Sat 9AM-3PM

===[https://hardwoods-inc.com/hardwoods-san-jose/ Hardwoods San Jose (aka Aura Hardwoods)]===
* San Jose and online
* 620 Quinn Ave, San Jose, CA, 95112
* Carries a full line of wood sheet goods, including Baltic Birch plywood, as well as an extensive selection of domestic and exotic hardwoods.
* If you take your Maker Nexus badge, and let them know that you are a member of MN, you will be able to use our pricing level.
* They are cool with you breaking down lumber in their parking lot and their carts make an OK workbench
* They also deliver orders over $350, so larger orders can potentially be delivered directly to MN.
* Coordinate with MN staff in advance to use this option or delivery will be refused.
Mon-Fri 8AM-4PM

===[https://makernexuswiki.com/index.php?title=Supply_Sources&action=edit The Home Depot]===
* Sunnyvale and many locations
* Precut 24x18 panels of several plywoods. Many have a nice finish on at least one side. If you want cheap stuff, look for "door skins" - thin plywood sanded on one side.
* The Sunnyvale location has great Endesa sanded plywood (Sandeply) and has been reliably flat
* Mon-Sat 6AM-10PM
* Sun 7AM-8PM

===[https://www.macbeath.com Macbeath Hardwood]===
* 930 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94710
* Mon-Fri 7:30AM-4:30PM
* Sat 9AM-3PM

===[https://mayanhardwood.com Mayan Hardwood]===
* Oxnard, Paso Robles.

===[https://moorenewton.com Moore Newton]===
* 2115 Williams St, San Leandro, CA 94577
* Mon-Fri 8AM-4:30PM
* They will do some cutting of lumber for you, but you can also cut it yourself in the parking lot
* They will do delivery to MN
* Coordinate with staff in advance to use this option or delivery will be refused.

===[https://ocoochhardwoods.com Ocooch Hardwoods]===
* Viola, WI

===[https://www.woodcraft.com/pages/store/san-carlos Woodcraft]===
* 40 El Camino Real, San Carlos, CA 94070
* Has a large selection of great woods. Some plywood panels, pre-cut
* Carries their Wood River brand of tools
* Mon-Fri 9AM-6PM
* Sat 9AM-5PM
* Sun 11AM-4PM

== Wood CNC and Tools ==

===[https://www.freudtools.com Freud]===
* End mills and other bits
* Lots of [https://www.freudtools.com/explore/router-cnc/joinery joinery bits]

===[https://www.itape.com Intertape Polymer Group (ipg)]===
* Good non-marking release double stick tape (double-sided tape) for CNC work holding, especially [https://www.itape.com/product/591/ IPG 591] double-coated flatback tape

===[https://www.whitesiderouterbits.com Whiteside Machine Company]===
* End mills and other bits for CNC and routers

== Wood Services ==

=== Sharpening and Honing ===

Sharpening and honing for chisels, saw blades, and more.

* [https://acmesawshop.com/ Acme Saw Shop]

== Metal Structure ==

=== Aluminum Extrusion ===

====[https://us.misumi-ec.com/ Misumi]====
* These folks specialize in parts that can be configured at the time of order. I found them referred to from some web sites as a low cost source of accurately cut aluminum frame parts - 2020, 2040, 4080, 2525, etc - just about any size member that is made. You can order cut to length, but also with holes at locations you define and stuff like that. You can also buy stuff like a plate with four holes. You specify all the specs of size of plate, location of holes, size of holes, etc. It's like they've made a bunch of parametric designs and provided a web-interface that lets your specify the parameters and them to set a cost. Cool, cool, cool. These guys are also the referenced "best quality" linear guide rails. But pricing is about 5X a part you can buy from China.

=== Bearings ===
A specification for "all possible bearings" is the [https://drive.google.com/drive/u/3/folders/1Tjw7rG10pfDGDbMKdjtABqIrwmNcHksO NTN Bearing Corporation catalog] available on our member share drive.

* This [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NZ5PPHH Amazon seller] has a lot of smaller bearings.
* There are also Amazon sellers with multiple regular bearing sizes.

=== Aluminum Posts ===
[https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Aluminum-12-13mm-Seamless-Straight/dp/B07YKWJJGD Amazon seller] with a drop down for lots of sizes.

== All Metals ==

===[https://industrialmetalsupply.com Industrial Metal Supply (IMS)]===
* 569 Charcot Ave. San Jose, CA 95131
* Formerly Campbell Metal
* Full-range metal supplier. Large selection of aluminum plate/bar remnants in their “rem center” (~$3.50/lb, $35 minimum).

===[https://www.ondrivesus.com Ondrives]===
* Online
* Rods, fasteners, and other tools like clutches and couplings

===[https://www.simsmm.com/locations/san-jose-california/ Sims Metal San Jose]===
* 1800 Monterey Highway, San Jose, CA 95112
* Scrap metal buyer and reseller.
* Mon-Fri 7AM-4PM
* Sat 8AM-12PM

===[https://www.yelp.com/biz/alan-steel-and-supply-redwood-city Alan Steel Redwood City]===
* 505 E Bayshore Rd Redwood City, CA 94063
* Primarily a scrap/salvage yard, with a large selection of steel of all kinds and smaller selection of other materials.
* Prices can be arbitrary, but the selection is unbeatable.
* Mon-Thu 8AM-4PM

===[https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/location/san-jose/ Metal Supermarkets]===
* 2413 Zanker Rd, San Jose, CA 95131
* A franchise.
* Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM
* Sat 8AM-1PM

===[https://coastaluminum.com/ Coast Aluminum, Inc.]===
* Hayward, Fresno, etc.
* 30551 Huntwood Avenue, Hayward, CA 94544

== Metal Parts Cut to Order ==

===[http://fabworks.com Fabworks]===
* On-demand sheet metal services.
* Laser Cutting, Bending, Hardware, Countersinking, Tapping, and Powder Coating for Aluminum, Steel, and Stainless sheet metal.
* Upload a .STEP file (e.g. output from OnShape or Fusion 360), and get instant quotes (with excellent prices). Turnaround time is quick, and there's free shipping too.

===[http://SendCutSend.com Send Cut Send]===
* You upload a DXF file, pick the material and get an instant quote.
They cut it and send it with free shipping. Laser cut metal, plastics, and composites.

===[https://www.xometry.com/ Xometry]===

== Paper and Cardboard ==

===[https://kellyspicers.com Kelly Spicers (was Kelly Paper)]===
* San Jose
* Wide selection of paper stock, corrugated cardboard, paperboard
* Also foam, cardboard sheets and boxes, packing materials
* Words well on our laser cutters, hot wire cutter
* Thick linen paper is really nice to cut
* Mon-Fri 7:30AM-5PM

== 3D printer filament ==

===[https://www.esun3d.com/ eSun]===

Available directly from them and on Amazon. PLA+ and PETG+ have been very reliable. Packaging is good.

===[https://www.matterhackers.com/ MatterHackers]===

===[https://www.prusa3d.com/category/prusament/ Prusament]===

PLA, PTEG are reliable

===[https://www.printedsolid.com/collections/filament Printed Solid]===

Sells Prusament and Jessie

== Electronics Parts ==

===LED strips===
* [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=meijiajia+led+neon+strip+lights&crid=12E4VSKLOUF2Y&sprefix=meijiajia%2Caps%2C186&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_9 Neon LED strips], like the one used in our "[https://app.amilia.com/store/en/makernexus/shop/activities/5776275 Make an LED Neon Sign]" class
* [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cuttable+12V+LED+strip&crid=36ISWSZ4II4AD&sprefix=cuttable+12v+led+stri%2Caps%2C150&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 Cuttable 12V LED strip lighting]

== Fittings ==
Hinges, locks, pen parts, etc

===[https://www.brusso.com/hinges/ Brusso]===

===[https://www.mcmaster.com McMaster Carr]===
The world of all the fasteners you didn't know you needed including:
* Machine screws, including metric screws
* Thumb screws
* Metal rods
* Springs, pins, and anchors
* Magnets
* Pipe adapters
* Tools

== Sewing, Quilting, Textiles ==

===[https://allstitch.com/ AllStitch]===

===[https://rnk-floriani.com/ Floriani]===

===[https://redrockthreads.com/ Red Rock Threads]===

===[https://mobile.sewmanyparts.com/ Sew Many Parts]===
* Good Madeira thread

== Embroidery Designs==

===[https://emblibrary.com/# Embroidery Library]===

===[https://urbanthreads.com/index.php# Urban Threads]===

===[https://www.wawak.com/ WAWAK]===

== Interesting Bits ==
Things that you might not know you need.

* LED sign standoffs can be used to illuminate etched acrylic. [https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07CMMZF3T/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ePHjEbAFYJVB5 On Amazon]

* Tamper Resistant nuts and bolts. What a wild assortment of clever ideas. Some are similar to security by obscurity - special tools needed.
[https://www.mcmaster.com/products/fasteners/?s=tamper+resistant+fasteners on McMaster Carr]

===[https://www.grimco.com/Catalog/Category/Substrates Grimco substrates]===
* Various materials like aluminum, magnetic, and sign blanks
* Including [https://www.orafol.com/en/americas/products/oracal-651-intermediate-cal Oracal vinyl]

===[https://signwarehouse.com/ Sign Warehouse]===
* including [https://signwarehouse.com/collections/3m-printable-vinyl-wraps-and-supplies 3M printable vinyl]

== Search Keywords ==
Metal Stores

Supply Sources for Materials and Services

2026-07-31T22:00:36Z

Jschrempp: /* Hardwoods San Jose (aka Aura Hardwoods) */

We have a little [[MN Retail|supplies store]] near the Main Entrance, but you will of course need more! Here is a list of local and online sources for materials and what we've bought there, at what price. Use this forum when the material is not specific to a particular device.

== General Suppliers ==
* [https://www.ponoko.com/make-and-sell/materials Ponoko] sells a range of laserable materials.
* [https://www.inventables.com/categories/materials Inventables] lots of maker suitable materials, many are not laser safe.
* [http://ikea.com Ikea] sells lots of small wooden items (spoons, coat hangers, wood cutting boards, etc) that can be laser etched as great gifts.
* [https://makerstock.com Makerstock] sells all kinds of materials.

== Plastics ==

Acrylic: Cast and Extruded.
* '''Cast''' has a more uniform size and will produce a better raster effect.
* '''Extruded''' works well for cutting; thickness can vary a bit across the sheet.
* '''Cast''' has a paper protection on both sides that can be removed after lasering.
* '''Extruded''' comes with a PVC plastic protection layer on both sides that needs to be removed before lasering. Commonly comes in 3mm, 6mm, and thicker.

''Note: be sure to clarify if plastics are laserable if you intend to laser cut them at Maker Nexus!''

===[https://www.calsakplastics.com Calsak Plastics]===
* Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, etc.

===[http://www.delviesplastics.com Delvie's Plastics]===
* Online store
* Source for Cast Acrylic sheets, 1/16" thick to 2" thick. They also carry badge pins and clips.
* Delvie's Plastics is a full line distributor of Rowmark Engraving Materials

===[https://houstonacrylic.com/ Houston Acrylic]===
* Specializes in laserable materials

===[https://www.piedmontplastics.com Piedmont Plastics]===
* San Francisco, etc.
* 33340 Central Avenue, Union City CA 94587
* 510-746-2200
* Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM

===[https://www.professionalplastics.com Professional Plastics]===
* 2175 Kruse Dr., San Jose, CA 95131-1214
* 408-434-9410, 800-523-2807
* Mon-Fri: 8AM-5PM

===[https://portplastics.com Port Plastics]===
* 550 E. Trimble Road #A, San Jose, CA 95131
* 408-571-2231
* Mon-Fri: 7AM-4PM

===[https://www.tapplastics.com TAP Plastics]===
* Fremont, San Jose, San Leandro, San Mateo, San Francisco, etc.
* A large selection of acrylic plastic, both cast and extruded.
* Usually have a bin of remainder odd size pieces for a few bucks each. They also sell a lot of other plastic products that are not laser safe.
* Ask them before buying something besides acrylic.
* San Jose store:
** 1212 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126
** 408-292-8685
** Mon-Fri 8:30AM-5:30PM
** Sat: 9AM-5PM

===[https://www.usplastic.com U.S. Plastic]===
* Good source of sheet plastic. They ship it rolled up in a tube. I cut the roll on the power shear at TechShop.
* Sytrene0.030 40x72 $10 + $10 shipping
* PET-G (Vivak)0.040 24x48 $18 + $10 shipping
* 800-537-9724

== Wood & Veneers ==

===[https://www.brucebauer.com Bruce Bauer Lumber & Supply]===
* 134 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View, CA 94040
* They will cut boards down for you (so long as the remainder of the board is sufficiently long)
* Mon-Fri 7AM-5PM
* Sat 8AM-4:30PM

===[https://exoticwoodzone.com/ Exotic Wood Zone]===
* Interesting woods such as guitar wood

===[https://www.globalwoodsource.com Global Wood Source]===
* 180 East Sunnyoaks Ave Building #3, Campbell, CA 95008
* Mon-Fri 9AM-4PM
* Sat 9AM-3PM

===[https://hardwoods-inc.com/hardwoods-san-jose/ Hardwoods San Jose (aka Aura Hardwoods)]===
* San Jose and online
* 620 Quinn Ave, San Jose, CA, 95112
* Carries a full line of wood sheet goods, including Baltic Birch plywood, as well as an extensive selection of domestic and exotic hardwoods.
* If you take your Maker Nexus badge, and let them know that you are a member of MN, you will be able to use our pricing level.
* They are cool with you breaking down lumber in their parking lot and their carts make an OK workbench
* They also deliver orders over $350, so larger orders can potentially be delivered directly to MN.
* Coordinate with MN staff in advance to use this option or delivery will be refused.
Mon-Fri 8AM-4PM

===[https://makernexuswiki.com/index.php?title=Supply_Sources&action=edit The Home Depot]===
* Sunnyvale and many locations
* Precut 24x18 panels of several plywoods. Many have a nice finish on at least one side. If you want cheap stuff, look for "door skins" - thin plywood sanded on one side.
* The Sunnyvale location has great Endesa sanded plywood (Sandeply) and has been reliably flat
* Mon-Sat 6AM-10PM
* Sun 7AM-8PM

===[https://www.macbeath.com Macbeath Hardwood]===
* 930 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94710
* Mon-Fri 7:30AM-4:30PM
* Sat 9AM-3PM

===[https://mayanhardwood.com Mayan Hardwood]===
* Oxnard, Paso Robles.

===[https://moorenewton.com Moore Newton]===
* 2115 Williams St, San Leandro, CA 94577
* Mon-Fri 8AM-4:30PM
* They will do some cutting of lumber for you, but you can also cut it yourself in the parking lot
* They will do delivery to MN
* Coordinate with staff in advance to use this option or delivery will be refused.

===[https://ocoochhardwoods.com Ocooch Hardwoods]===
* Viola, WI

===[https://www.woodcraft.com/pages/store/san-carlos Woodcraft]===
* 40 El Camino Real, San Carlos, CA 94070
* Has a large selection of great woods. Some plywood panels, pre-cut
* Carries their Wood River brand of tools
* Mon-Fri 9AM-6PM
* Sat 9AM-5PM
* Sun 11AM-4PM

== Wood CNC and Tools ==

===[https://www.freudtools.com Freud]===
* End mills and other bits
* Lots of [https://www.freudtools.com/explore/router-cnc/joinery joinery bits]

===[https://www.itape.com Intertape Polymer Group (ipg)]===
* Good non-marking release double stick tape (double-sided tape) for CNC work holding, especially [https://www.itape.com/product/591/ IPG 591] double-coated flatback tape

===[https://www.whitesiderouterbits.com Whiteside Machine Company]===
* End mills and other bits for CNC and routers

== Wood Services ==

=== Sharpening and Honing ===

Sharpening and honing for chisels, saw blades, and more.

* [https://acmesawshop.com/ Acme Saw Shop]

== Metal Structure ==

=== Aluminum Extrusion ===

====[https://us.misumi-ec.com/ Misumi]====
* These folks specialize in parts that can be configured at the time of order. I found them referred to from some web sites as a low cost source of accurately cut aluminum frame parts - 2020, 2040, 4080, 2525, etc - just about any size member that is made. You can order cut to length, but also with holes at locations you define and stuff like that. You can also buy stuff like a plate with four holes. You specify all the specs of size of plate, location of holes, size of holes, etc. It's like they've made a bunch of parametric designs and provided a web-interface that lets your specify the parameters and them to set a cost. Cool, cool, cool. These guys are also the referenced "best quality" linear guide rails. But pricing is about 5X a part you can buy from China.

=== Bearings ===
A specification for "all possible bearings" is the [https://drive.google.com/drive/u/3/folders/1Tjw7rG10pfDGDbMKdjtABqIrwmNcHksO NTN Bearing Corporation catalog] available on our member share drive.

* This [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NZ5PPHH Amazon seller] has a lot of smaller bearings.
* There are also Amazon sellers with multiple regular bearing sizes.

=== Aluminum Posts ===
[https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Aluminum-12-13mm-Seamless-Straight/dp/B07YKWJJGD Amazon seller] with a drop down for lots of sizes.

== All Metals ==

===[https://industrialmetalsupply.com Industrial Metal Supply (IMS)]===
* 569 Charcot Ave. San Jose, CA 95131
* Formerly Campbell Metal
* Full-range metal supplier. Large selection of aluminum plate/bar remnants in their “rem center” (~$3.50/lb, $35 minimum).

===[https://www.ondrivesus.com Ondrives]===
* Online
* Rods, fasteners, and other tools like clutches and couplings

===[https://www.simsmm.com/locations/san-jose-california/ Sims Metal San Jose]===
* 1800 Monterey Highway, San Jose, CA 95112
* Scrap metal buyer and reseller.
* Mon-Fri 7AM-4PM
* Sat 8AM-12PM

===[https://www.yelp.com/biz/alan-steel-and-supply-redwood-city Alan Steel Redwood City]===
* 505 E Bayshore Rd Redwood City, CA 94063
* Primarily a scrap/salvage yard, with a large selection of steel of all kinds and smaller selection of other materials.
* Prices can be arbitrary, but the selection is unbeatable.
* Mon-Thu 8AM-4PM

===[https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/location/san-jose/ Metal Supermarkets]===
* 2413 Zanker Rd, San Jose, CA 95131
* A franchise.
* Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM
* Sat 8AM-1PM

===[https://coastaluminum.com/ Coast Aluminum, Inc.]===
* Hayward, Fresno, etc.
* 30551 Huntwood Avenue, Hayward, CA 94544

== Metal Parts Cut to Order ==

===[http://fabworks.com Fabworks]===
* On-demand sheet metal services.
* Laser Cutting, Bending, Hardware, Countersinking, Tapping, and Powder Coating for Aluminum, Steel, and Stainless sheet metal.
* Upload a .STEP file (e.g. output from OnShape or Fusion 360), and get instant quotes (with excellent prices). Turnaround time is quick, and there's free shipping too.

===[http://SendCutSend.com Send Cut Send]===
* You upload a DXF file, pick the material and get an instant quote.
They cut it and send it with free shipping. Laser cut metal, plastics, and composites.

===[https://www.xometry.com/ Xometry]===

== Paper and Cardboard ==

===[https://kellyspicers.com Kelly Spicers (was Kelly Paper)]===
* San Jose, Palo Alto
* Wide selection of paper stock, corrugated cardboard, paperboard
* Also foam, cardboard sheets and boxes, packing materials
* Words well on our laser cutters, hot wire cutter
* Thick linen paper is really nice to cut
* Mon-Fri 7:30AM-5PM

== 3D printer filament ==

===[https://www.esun3d.com/ eSun]===

Available directly from them and on Amazon. PLA+ and PETG+ have been very reliable. Packaging is good.

===[https://www.matterhackers.com/ MatterHackers]===

===[https://www.prusa3d.com/category/prusament/ Prusament]===

PLA, PTEG are reliable

===[https://www.printedsolid.com/collections/filament Printed Solid]===

Sells Prusament and Jessie

== Electronics Parts ==

===LED strips===
* [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=meijiajia+led+neon+strip+lights&crid=12E4VSKLOUF2Y&sprefix=meijiajia%2Caps%2C186&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_9 Neon LED strips], like the one used in our "[https://app.amilia.com/store/en/makernexus/shop/activities/5776275 Make an LED Neon Sign]" class
* [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cuttable+12V+LED+strip&crid=36ISWSZ4II4AD&sprefix=cuttable+12v+led+stri%2Caps%2C150&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 Cuttable 12V LED strip lighting]

== Fittings ==
Hinges, locks, pen parts, etc

===[https://www.brusso.com/hinges/ Brusso]===

===[https://www.mcmaster.com McMaster Carr]===
The world of all the fasteners you didn't know you needed including:
* Machine screws, including metric screws
* Thumb screws
* Metal rods
* Springs, pins, and anchors
* Magnets
* Pipe adapters
* Tools

== Sewing, Quilting, Textiles ==

===[https://allstitch.com/ AllStitch]===

===[https://rnk-floriani.com/ Floriani]===

===[https://redrockthreads.com/ Red Rock Threads]===

===[https://mobile.sewmanyparts.com/ Sew Many Parts]===
* Good Madeira thread

== Embroidery Designs==

===[https://emblibrary.com/# Embroidery Library]===

===[https://urbanthreads.com/index.php# Urban Threads]===

===[https://www.wawak.com/ WAWAK]===

== Interesting Bits ==
Things that you might not know you need.

* LED sign standoffs can be used to illuminate etched acrylic. [https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07CMMZF3T/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ePHjEbAFYJVB5 On Amazon]

* Tamper Resistant nuts and bolts. What a wild assortment of clever ideas. Some are similar to security by obscurity - special tools needed.
[https://www.mcmaster.com/products/fasteners/?s=tamper+resistant+fasteners on McMaster Carr]

===[https://www.grimco.com/Catalog/Category/Substrates Grimco substrates]===
* Various materials like aluminum, magnetic, and sign blanks
* Including [https://www.orafol.com/en/americas/products/oracal-651-intermediate-cal Oracal vinyl]

===[https://signwarehouse.com/ Sign Warehouse]===
* including [https://signwarehouse.com/collections/3m-printable-vinyl-wraps-and-supplies 3M printable vinyl]

== Search Keywords ==
Metal Stores

MN Laser Cutters

2026-07-29T14:35:27Z

Jschrempp: /* Laser Cutters Reference */

[[Category:Equipment]]
[[Category:Clean Shop]]

[[File:mn-bosslaser.jpeg|400px|100W laser cutters]]
[[File:mn-epilog.jpeg|400px|45W laser cutter]]

Our [[Laser Cutters|laser cutters]] are one of the most used tools because it's fast and accurate to cut out your designs. In our facility, you will first set up your design in a vector program like Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW. If working with the lower power [[Epilog Helix]], you will "print" your design from the attached computer. Our other two 100W lasers use Lightburn to set the carving order and power settings.

== Laser Cutters Reference ==
* [[Epilog Helix]] - 45W, 18x24" (450x600 mm); practical size 17x23" (430x590 mm)
* [[BossLaser LS2440]] - 100W, 24x40" (600x1000 mm); practical size 23x39" (590x980 mm)
* [[Red Laser]] - 100W, 19.6x27.5" (500x700 mm); practical size 19x27" (480x690 mm)

“Practical” refers mainly to when you're using the full width of the bed for raster engraving To allow for the extra extend space needed for tool head acceleration on either side of a raster scan; you can't use the full width of the useable bed space for your design, since it would require the tool head to do the acceleration on either side out of bounds, which it simply can't do. This is not an issue when vector following in line mode (either cutting or engraving).

==Filters==
3 BOFA HEPA filters

==Air Compressors==

== Recommended CO2 Laser cutter / Engraver settings ==

=== Boss Laser 100W ===

The following is extracted from a historical
[https://web.archive.org/web/20210414201911/https://www.bosslaser.com/laser-settings/ page]
on the Boss Laser for 100W settings

{| class="wikitable"
|+ CO2 Laser Cutter / Engraver Settings For Common Materials
|-
!Material || Power % || Speed(mm/s) || Interval / scan <br> GAP (mm) || Thickness
|-
|ACRYLIC - Engraving || 20 || 350 || .065 || ANY
|-
|ACRYLIC - Cutting || 75 || 15 || N/A || 1/4"
|-
|Anodized Aluminum - Engraving || 20 || 325 || .065 || ANY
|-
|Balsa Wood - Engraving || 20 || 350 || .065 || Any
|-
|Balsa Wood - Cutting || 55 || 25 || N/A || 1/8"
|-
|Bass Wood - Engraving || 25 || 350 || .065 || Any
|-
|Bass Wood - Cutting || 55 || 25 || N/A || 1/8"
|-
|Birch Wood - Engraving || 25 || 350 || .065 || Any
|-
|Birch Wood - Cutting || 70 || 15 || N/A || 1/4"
|-
|Birch Plywood - Engraving || 25 || 350 || .065 || Any
|-
|Birch Plywood - Cutting || 75 || 15 || N/A || 1/4"
|-
|Cardboard - Engraving || 20 || 350 || .065 || Any
|-
|Cardboard - Cutting || 60 || 15 || N/A || 1/4"
|-
|Ceramic - Engraving || 40 || 350 || .065 || Any
|-
|Glass - Engraving || 25 || 325 || .065 || Any
|-
|Granite - Engraving || 25 || 275 || .065 || Any
|-
|Leather - Engraving || 18 || 350 || .065 || Any
|-
|Leather - Cutting || 75 || 12 || N/A || 1/8"
|-
|Powder-coated Metal - Engraving || 20 || 325 || .065 || Any
|-
|Mirror - Back-side; Engraving || 20 || 325 || .065 || Any
|-
|Paper - Cutting || 15 || 25 || N/A || 1/100"
|-
|Romark - Multi-colored; Engraving || 20 || 350 || .065 || Any
|-
|Rubber - Engraving || 20 || 350 || .065 || Any
|-
|Rubber - Cutting || 75 || 12 || N/A || 1/8"
|-
|Foam - Cutting || 55 || 25 || N/A || 1/4"
|}

=== Member Settings ===

{| class="wikitable"
|+ CO2 Laser Cutter / Engraver Settings For Common Materials
|-
!Material || Power % || Speed(mm/s) || Interval / scan <br> GAP (mm) || Thickness
|-
|CARDBOARD - C Flute || 45, 35 || 65 || - || 3mm
|-
|PAPER - Cardstock || 10 || 65 || - || 80 lb
|-
|PAPER - Linen paper || 15 || 65 || - || Thick
|-
|}

==Software==
See [https://makernexuswiki.com/wiki/Lightburn Lighburn]

MeshCore

2026-07-29T02:37:32Z

Jschrempp: /* Repeaters */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

If you want to know about LoRa radio things, go [[Mesh_Networks|here]].

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

There is a Python version that runs on RPi class hardware. Called [https://docs.openhop.dev/projects/openhop-core/ OpenHop]

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.io Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://swaits.github.io/meshcore-spec/latest/ Protocol Specification]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
==== Station G2 ====
Transmit power of 10 = 1 watt

If the G2 experiences a brief power outage it will come back in a low power state (all the LEDs are not lit up). Power it down for 60 seconds or so, then power it up.

The G2 pulls a lot of power. Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not and the three LEDs will not light up, showing that the power amplifier is not working.

Update a G2 over WiFi:
1) download the non merged firmware binary on your phone or computer. Do this with [https://flasher.meshcore.io flasher.meshcore.io]
2) connect to a companion and then log in to the repeater via the mesh
3) open the command line and type "start ota" - note the web address provided. The G2 will become a WiFi access point.
4) on phone or computer, connect to the Meshcore-OTA wifi
5) use a browser to go to the provided web address from step 3
6) choose the binary file downloaded in step 1 - it will reboot automatically

==== Heltec V4 ====
Transmit power of 22 = 650 mW

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not. You won't know it, but you won't be transmitting at 650 mW. You can see this yourself with a USB current monitor. Hook it up and then send a message. You should see the current jump up considerably. If not, your power supply is not strong enough.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: Setup Advice
: You can't do better than [https://bayareameshcore.org/repeater-setup/ this]

: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

: Loop Prevention. If a path has a loop in it (1a, e6, 9f, e6, 9f, 2c) messages loop around. In single byte paths this kind of thing might be legitimate because different routers could have the same byte id. Going to two or three byte path modes makes these collisions unlikely. Repeaters can be set to stop loops with loop.detect. The values show how many times a given id is allowed in a path. For example, minimal allows 4 duplicates in a 1-byte path, 2 duplicates in a 2-byte path, and no duplicates in a 3-byte path: minimal is 4,2,1; moderate is 2,1,1; strict is 1,1,1.
: set loop.detect moderate

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

None at this time. Add an item if you can't find the answer.

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

3D Printing and Modeling

2026-07-21T23:52:15Z

Jschrempp: /* Other sites */

{{About|3D printing and modeling|at the Maker Nexus makerspace in Sunnyvale, CA|[[MN 3D Printers]]}}

= What is 3D printing? =

The two popular versions of 3D printing are:

* '''Building with plastic filament.''' Filament Deposition Modeling (FDM) uses spools of thick plastic thread. This filament passes into a printing head which heats it to a liquid state, then carefully drops it onto the build surface or onto parts of the model. Models are built from the bottom up as the head moves up (or the bed moves down). This method isn't too messy but there can be dangerous fumes with some filament materials.
* '''Curing plastic with a laser.''' A platen is submerged in a vat of resin and a laser shines onto the platen to harden the plastic. Models are built upside down as the platen is pulled up out of the vat. You have to be careful with the liquid resin, and you have to wash the model in alcohol after printing.

In both cases, a hard plastic part is created. You can use a flexible filament or add flex joints into your model to give it movement.

Because the models are constructed with thin layers, they take hours (or days!) to create your part. It's best to plan your project with smaller parts so if the printing doesn't succeed then you don't have to reprint the whole part.

= Safety =

There are more [https://makernexuswiki.com/wiki/MN_Safety safety considerations] than what's listed here. But these are some things we have learned:

== In general ==

3D printing is one of the ''few cases'' where you can start a job and then walk away as it is running. The likelihood of a part (or machine) catching on fire is not as high, provided the machine is in good shape. It is more likely that your print fails and you end up with a spaghetti-like blob on the build plate.

* '''Safety should be the most important priority.''' Always look at the machines and the work area. If something doesn't feel right, stop. If you need help, ask someone or a staff member.
* '''Monitor your print in the beginning.''' It is a good idea to make sure that your print starts as expected. Once you are confident the part is building as expected, you can turn your attention elsewhere.

== Hazards from a hot build plate ==

* '''FDM printer beds can get quite hot.''' If you touch it briefly, you won't like it but you probably won't be burnt.

== Hazards from a hot nozzle ==

* '''FDM nozzles are ''very'' hot!''' The print head literally needs to liquify a solid filament quickly, so these parts should never be touched. They will definitely burn you, or drop hot liquid filament on you.

== Hazards from fumes ==

* '''Plastics like ABS have toxic fumes.''' Be aware that our 3D printers are in an open shared office, so you cannot print ABS. (Except for really small prints, and only in the enclosed printer.) PLA and PTEG are less toxic, but you still shouldn't breathe in their fumes.

== Hazards from a print falling over ==

* If the print falls sideways then the print head is printing in mid air. This usually creates a huge mess. Most messes won't damage the printer, but it may cause a blob to form on the print head.
* '''Use supports where needed.''' Support material is recommended, and almost required for tall or thin parts.

== Hazards from print head blobs ==

* A blob can clog the print nozzle or the printing mechanism. A super bad blob can destroy the print head.

= Materials =

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or1FP43zx3I Review of different filaments]

Prusa has a nice [https://help.prusa3d.com/en/materials materials guide] with interesting information.

== PLA ==

eSun PLA+ is recommended by several people.

Buying PLA online is typically moderate price and reliable.

== Recycling ==

We are often asked about recycling scrap filament. The short story is that we don't.

[https://printcycle.org/ Print Cycle] is a non-profit that recycles 3D printing scrap!

Some companies that recycle plastic have concerns about taking in 3D printed scraps:

# They don't know what additives are in the filament
# They worry that the consumer (or Maker Nexus) will mix types of plastic

This kind of contamination would hurt the purity of their end product, so they are unwilling to accept post-consumer scraps.

There are places that make filament from recycled prints, but they use scrap that they generate so they know its composition. Prusa has [https://blog.prusa3d.com/10-tips-for-saving-filament-money-and-environment_71415/ two interesting] [https://blog.prusa3d.com/prusa-recycling-world-map_83216/ blog posts] about this, and a [https://world.prusa3d.com world map] that shows recycling centers. None are currently in California.

There is a place that [https://recyclingfabrik.com sells recycled filament].

You should not place filament or failed prints in your community recycling stream -- they are not equipped to recycle these materials, and contaminating their batches (if they fail to separate out the materials properly) can render tons of plastic destined for the landfill. Yes, throwing it in the trash is unfortunate, but hobbyist 3D printing is a very small amount of the plastic ecosystem. See [https://indepak.com/pet-petg-plastic-6-facts-need-know/#:~:text=If%20PET%20AND%20PETG%20are,of%20packaging%2C%20and%20here's%20why. this article from a plastic recycling company] for more.

= Find a Model =

== User Contributed Models ==
* [https://www.thingiverse.com Thingiverse] has a wide variety of .STL files to download and use. A great source of ideas. Hosted by Ultimaker, and probably has the largest number of designs.

* [https://www.printables.com/ Printables] is hosted by Prusa.

* [https://thangs.com Thangs] has a lot of models. You can keep yours private. It has some collaboration tools and an interesting version control system for your models.

* [https://grabcad.com/library GrabCAD] is another interesting group of more professional looking models. Includes models of common parts that you can include in your designs. For example, all the Arduino boards are available.

* [https://makerworld.com/en Maker World] is a site that is hosted by Bambu Labs.

* [https://cults3d.com/en Cults 3D] has a lot of high-quality designs, but beware that many will be paid designs. (In my experience, the paid designs are generally inexpensive and high quality. [[User:DavidTomaschik|DavidTomaschik]] ([[User talk:DavidTomaschik|talk]]) 14:05, 3 March 2025 (EST))

== Museums and Government Models ==

* [https://www.myminifactory.com/users/nationalmuseumswe National Museum of Sweden] has scanned their collection of sculpture.

* [https://3d.si.edu/browser The Smithsonian Museum] has many interesting models. Natural history and man-made - anyone want to 3D print a copy of the Apollo Command Module escape hatch?

* [https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/models NASA] has files for their space craft and more.

* [http://jthatch.com/Terrain2STL/ Terrain To STL] will generate a surface mesh of anywhere in the world. There is simple [https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-3D-Print-Topographic-Maps-and-Terrains/ Instructable on how to use it].

* [https://cadmapper.com/ CADMAPPER] will give you terrain AND the buildings that are on it.

== Other Interesting Sites ==

* [https://deckinabox.sgenoud.com/token-tray-fdm Board Game] accessory holders, easy tool to design your own.

== Models for Purchase ==
* [https://www.cgtrader.com/ CGTrader] Lots of models for purchase, including a number of celebrity heads.

TIP: If you have a virtual reality headset, you can import your model to AltspaceVR and interact with it in VR! [[Virtual_Reality#Your_model_in_VR | We have some instructions on how to do this]].

= Get Your Model Printed =

== Own Your Own 3d Printer ==

Having your own printer gives you unlimited time. But you also must be willing to care for the machine. At Maker Nexus we use the Prusa MK3s printers. During our [https://www.makernexus.org/covid-shield-nexus COVID response] they ran continuously for months without a problem. [[3D_Printers|Or join Maker Nexus and use our printers!]]

== Your local Makerspace ==
You're on this wiki, why not join your [[Maker Spaces|local community makerspace]]?

== By Mail ==
If you search the internet for "3d printing service" you will find many that will print your model and send it to you.

= Modeling Software =

== Parametric Modeling ==
Parametric modeling allows you to specify constraints on your designs. One constraint is the length (dimensions) of your design and that makes it easy to adjust the dimensions later. You can also specify angles, tangents, co-linearity, and much more. Some solutions actually require that you dimension everything. One issue for the newby is that when you have only a few constraints and change one the software might "solve" your geometry in a way that you did not anticipate - you use the Undo button a lot until you get used to it. Once you understand constraint use it is very powerful.

* [https://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/fusion-360-for-hobbyists Fusion 360 parametric modeling] for hobbyist and very small businesses. This is a very powerful professional, yet easy to learn, modeling tool. All your designs can be dimensioned which makes it easy to go back and say, "I want this wall to be 23mm instead of 22" and see the whole model regenerate. You can export an .STL file for import into a Slicer. We have a page of [[Fusion 360|Fusion 360 tips]].

* [https://www.freecadweb.org/ FreeCAD] is an open source alternative to Fusion360. It is very powerful but a bit quirkier than Fusion360. If you enjoy open source software, this will do a very good job for you.

* [https://cad.onshape.com/signin OnShape] is a browser based solution. It works a lot like Fusion 360. The free version makes your models open-source. That might be a problem if you're doing a work thing, but if you're just a hobbyist then why not share your designs with the world?

* [https://openscad.org/ OpenSCAD] is a text based parametric modeling solution. They offer a GUI to help you make a well formed modeling file, but the basic file is all text based. You specify objects and locations in space, and boolean operations on them, and more. It's like the MarkUp language of 3D modeling. Some people swear by it because they can know exactly what's going on - no fancy GUI to hide operations from you. You can make extremely sophisticated models with this.

* [https://github.com/SolidCode/SolidPython Solid Python] is a Python library that generates valid OpenSCAD files. If you want to write your own program to generate models in OpenSCAD, try this.

== Organic Modeling ==
This is when you are making some lifelike part. A little figure, a model of a hand, a free form art work. These don't have constraints, you just grab parts of the mesh and pull it into a new position.

* MeshMixer for creating and editing STL files is now part of the Autodesk suite and is included in Fusion360.

* Blender - Used by artists and modelers the world over. A very, very powerful open source application. I tried to use it but felt like a guy who's driven an old car now sitting in a jet fighter trying to fly the thing. Wow. I've seen spectacular things come out of Blender, but not from my hand.

== Simple Modeling ==

These solutions are the easiest to use and are a good place to start if you just want to make something quickly.

* [https://www.sketchup.com/ SketchUp] offers a free version that is very popular with hobbyists. The easy user interface allows one to quickly construct objects. They can be constrained, but that is a bit more work.

* [https://www.tinkercad.com/ TinkerCAD] is so easy that kids can use it right away.

== 3D Scanning ==

If you want to duplicate some thing, there are several ways to create an STL file of that thing.

* High Quality Laser Scanners - Can cost a couple of thousand dollars, but do a great job at capturing fine detail. I've used the Next Engine 3D Scanner to duplicate an old drawer pull with many features.

* Low Cost Laser Scanners - Can cost a couple of hundred dollars and can do a good job on items that have moderate detail. Some of them are do-it-yourself kits. I'm told they can be finicky to get aligned. Search the internet for "3D scanner".

* True Depth Camera - If your smart phone has a camera that reports depth, apps are available to create a model. I've used [http://standardcyborg.com Create 3D by Standard Cyborg] (free) on my iPhone 12 to get superb results. The iPhone 12 only has true depth on the front facing camera, which is awkward for capturing a object other than your face. However, I took several scans and stitched them together with [https://www.meshlab.net/ MeshLab] (free) and the result was exceptional.

* Photogrammetry - This software constructs a 3D model from a bunch of photos. If you want a model of a teapot, you circle the object taking a hundred overlapping photos. You can use this software to construct a much bigger item like a whole house, a room, or even an archaeological site. The more high quality photos, the better the detail. Two I've used are [http://regard3d.org Regard 3D ](free) and [https://www.agisoft.com/ Agisoft Metashape] (free demo mode).

== Cellphone True Depth Camera ==

* Capture 3D: Scan Anything
[http://standardcyborg.com Capture 3D] runs on smart phones with true depth cameras. (The front facing camera on iPhones, for example.) Scanning your face is dead easy and you see the model right on your phone. As you move the phone you need to keep the object mostly in view - makes sense. If you don't, the process stops and you get a model of what you've scanned so far. Since this is just the front facing camera it is a bit tricky to get an object all in one scan.

To use the model requires some post processing. You go to Standard Cyborg's web site and download the models you have created as "point clouds." Then use software like the free MeshLab to stitch your point clouds together and create an STL file. Once you know how to use MeshLab the whole process is very easy.

== Photogrammetry ==

In 2024 a new open source scanner was introduced that shows great promise for smaller models. [https://en.openscan.eu/ OpenScan] is both software, 3D printed parts, and some hardware. [https://hackaday.com/2024/02/19/watch-the-openscan-diy-3d-scanner-in-action/ A review of the scanner.]

I've tried two software apps on my Mac and both did the job. I walked around a person in a chair and took about 140 overlapping photos. After an hour of processing I got a model of the person and also much of the room behind them. The resolution of the model's face was far below that of the true depth camera work, so I did not follow up on these packages.

* [http://regard3d.org Regard 3D ](free) is an open source solution with a gajillion options. I eventually read their documentation and followed what it recommended. It didn't work for my project until I selected L1 for both options on camera triangulation. Then I got nice results. It is a few years old and the database did not have my iPhone model in it. At first I blamed my guessing at the missing "sensor size" parameter for my bad results, but in the end my guess of 5mm seemed to work as well as the commercial software did on the same photo set.

* [https://www.agisoft.com/ Agisoft Metashape] (free demo mode) I'm not sure how long the demo mode lasts, but this did pretty much what Regard 3D did but without all the worries. I could click each step in the processing pipeline and the software just did it. In the end the result was not that different from Regard 3D, but I did not closely compare the output.

== Generative Design ==

Software that takes an idea of what you want and creates a model for you is called Generative Design. It is a new and quickly evolving field.

* [https://www.luban3d.com/ Luban] software is like a Swiss Army knife of 3D meshes. Create a mesh from a photograph. Slice a mesh into layers. Use two images to make a two shadow cube. Some amazing stuff.

* Fusion 360 also does generative design in the paid version. For instance you might have one sketch of the mounting points on the top of a drone, and another sketch floating above that with the mounting points of a small web camera. You select the two and tell Fusion to connect the two with some structure. It generates wild organic shapes that you would never think to do.

== Point Cloud and Mesh Software ==

Sometimes your scanning software will only give you a point cloud and not a mesh. Or you'll want to manipulate the mesh a bit to remove artifacts. In my case I had three point clouds from a scan of a head. I needed to align them, create the mesh, and export it.

* [http://meshlab.net MeshLab download] This is some fabulous open source software. I tried fooling around with it and got frustrated until I found a fabulous step-by-step tutorial that told me exactly what was needed. I could now do the process again in just a few minutes. The tutorial is [http://www.heritagedoc.pt/doc/Meshlab_Tutorial_iitd.pdf on the web]. We also have a copy in the [https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1vhhkMohQiRlBn_dQExRohMpAh29jXi2e MN Members Drive]

I found a mesh was difficult to deal with in Fusion360. Fusion360 has a mesh to BREP feature, but that left me with a ton of triangles and I still had trouble manipulating it. Their community recommended a paid feature to convert a mesh to quads, but then another recommended a free tool:

* [https://github.com/wjakob/instant-meshes Instant Meshes] converts an .OBJ file to a quad mesh.

Fusion360 can be difficult to understand when using a mesh or a surface or a tspline object. Here are some things to remember:

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHtu3CDcZkU convert a mesh to a BREP]

Meshmixer can be used to [https://help.autodesk.com/view/MSHMXR/2019/ENU/?guid=GUID-749E6C72-D82B-4FA9-A157-1AE612B779AE make a surface stl file into a water tight model]

= Printer Control Software =

== Slicers ==

Slicers take your .STL model and do the work to generate GCode that can be sent to a 3D printer.

* [https://www.prusa3d.com/prusaslicer/ Prusa Slicer] is a great tool for your needs. It provides a lot of control over the slicing, grouped into simple, advanced, expert. There are a large number of settings - visit our [[Prusa Slicer | Prusa Slicer Tips]] page.

* [https://slic3r.org/ Slic3r] is the software that Prusa built their slicer on top of. Open source, you may find that leading edge features are here before they appear in the Prusa Slicer.

* [[Prusa Slicer and XL MMU]] has tips and tricks as we learn to use the 5 extruder MMU.

== Remote Control and Monitoring ==

* [https://octoprint.org/ Octoprint] Runs on a Raspberry Pi and, depending on your printer, will let you monitor and remotely control the print. With a camera attached to the RPi you can watch your print from anywhere and intervene if there's a problem.

= Maintenance and Troubleshooting =

== Troubleshooting software ==

* [https://www.pronterface.com/ Pronterface] runs on your laptop and sends commands to your 3D printer from a graphical user interface. It can be very helpful in diagnosing issues with your printer.

== Calibrate the Extruder ==
[https://all3dp.com/2/extruder-calibration-6-easy-steps-2/ An interesting article] on calibrating the extruder on a 3D printer. The basic steps are to ask the printer to extrude a specific amount of filament, measure the actual amount of filament used, then adjust the extruder constant (steps per mm of filament used) to reflect the actual value. Then remeasure. On one printer, I found the default was extruding 102.5mm when it was supposed to be extruding 100. I think this was making rough top layers on my prints. It can also affect what you think is the correct height adjustment for the first layer if you rely on a printed patch that you feel for smoothness. The linked article walks through the process, including a couple of g-codes you need to be able to send to do run the test and set the adjustment.

= Techniques =

== Tips on Printing ==

A very good [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_ZGZe-pbTI video about support material] and how you can optimize it.

How to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKrDUnZCmQQ make box lids that fit]

== Other sites ==

[https://www.3dhubs.com/talk/thread/best-printing-practices-makerbot-replicator-2-and-2x Best Practices at 3D Hub].

[https://www.prusaprinters.org/how-to-print-maps-terrains-and-landscapes-on-a-3d-printer/ How to get and print a 3D landscape of anywhere]

[https://all3dp.com/2/annealing-pla-prints-for-strength-easy-ways/ Annealing your printed PLA model] can dramatically increase its strength.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kbjZobJtbM 3D print your own filament] to give you new colors or variegation. Then print with your own custom filament.

[http://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/S62.12/people/vernelle.noel/Plastic_Snap_fit_design.pdf Design of snap joints in plastic.] A great reference.

[https://bumpmesh.com/ Bumpmesh] adds textures to your model's surfaces. Really cool.

== Ceilings in your model ==

The MakerBot software defaults do NOT do a good job at putting roofs over some parts. To correct this you need to modify your device settings. Look for the "create a profile" button. First select the correct device, material, etc. Now click Create A Profile. Give it a name. It will now open in Notepad. Look for the setting of "roofThickness". Set it to 3.

You could try changing "roofLayerCount_disabled" to "roofLayerCount_enabled". I have not tried that.

== Design Tips ==

[https://m.all3dp.com/2/engineering-tolerance-definition-drawing/ Designing for tolerance in your printing process] A good discussion of part tolerances with FDM printing and how to include these tolerances in your design.

[https://hackaday.com/2022/05/01/bend-your-prints-to-eliminate-supports/ Avoid supports] by designing your model to be folded.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI8OgRRF5d8 Dovetail joints] in 3D printing. A nice overview of the technique.

[https://youtube.com/watch?v=YnaUSkiGOOE&is=P7KetP7A6Na1LzpH Using binder clip] as a spring in your design.

== Surface Finishing ==

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4e9JJkinvk Card scrapers] can make your surfaces smooth faster than sanding.

[https://youtu.be/KVf0mbBCygQ?si=N7xPGp12x__m-td- UV Resin and cornstarch] for a mirror smooth finish

== Clever or Interesting Projects ==

[https://youtu.be/y0Q9F-73Tio?si=TcSwX_rXQepxuO-P&t=149 Dual text illusion made with Fusion 360]

MeshCore

2026-07-18T15:09:51Z

Jschrempp: /* Repeaters */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

If you want to know about LoRa radio things, go [[Mesh_Networks|here]].

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

There is a Python version that runs on RPi class hardware. Called [https://docs.openhop.dev/projects/openhop-core/ OpenHop]

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.io Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://swaits.github.io/meshcore-spec/latest/ Protocol Specification]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
==== Station G2 ====
Transmit power of 10 = 1 watt

If the G2 experiences a brief power outage it will come back in a low power state (all the LEDs are not lit up). Power it down for 60 seconds or so, then power it up.

The G2 pulls a lot of power. Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not and the three LEDs will not light up, showing that the power amplifier is not working.

Update a G2 over WiFi:
1) download the non merged firmware binary on your phone or computer. Do this with [https://flasher.meshcore.io flasher.meshcore.io]
2) connect to a companion and then log in to the repeater via the mesh
3) open the command line and type "start ota" - note the web address provided. The G2 will become a WiFi access point.
4) on phone or computer, connect to the Meshcore-OTA wifi
5) use a browser to go to the provided web address from step 3
6) choose the binary file downloaded in step 1 - it will reboot automatically

==== Heltec V4 ====
Transmit power of 22 = 650 mW

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not. You won't know it, but you won't be transmitting at 650 mW. You can see this yourself with a USB current monitor. Hook it up and then send a message. You should see the current jump up considerably. If not, your power supply is not strong enough.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Leave your companion at the default 1-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240 (for 0 hop adverts, in minutes)
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]
: Duty Cycle. Can be set in 1.16+. After each transmission, the repeater enforces a silent period proportional to the on-air time. You are responsible for choosing a value appropriate for your jurisdiction (e.g. EU 868 MHz requires 10% duty cycle).
: set dutycycle 80
: Loop Prevention. If a path has a loop in it (1a, e6, 9f, e6, 9f, 2c) messages loop around. In single byte paths this kind of thing might be legitimate because different routers could have the same byte id. Going to two or three byte path modes makes these collisions unlikely. Repeaters can be set to stop loops with loop.detect. The values show how many times a given id is allowed in a path. For example, minimal allows 4 duplicates in a 1-byte path, 2 duplicates in a 2-byte path, and no duplicates in a 3-byte path: minimal is 4,2,1; moderate is 2,1,1; strict is 1,1,1.
: set loop.detect moderate

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

None at this time. Add an item if you can't find the answer.

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-07-05T20:19:48Z

Jschrempp: /* MeshCore */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

If you want to know about LoRa radio things, go [[Mesh_Networks|here]].

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

There is a Python version that runs on RPi class hardware. Called [https://docs.openhop.dev/projects/openhop-core/ OpenHop]

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.io Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://swaits.github.io/meshcore-spec/latest/ Protocol Specification]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
==== Station G2 ====
Transmit power of 10 = 1 watt

If the G2 experiences a brief power outage it will come back in a low power state (all the LEDs are not lit up). Power it down for 60 seconds or so, then power it up.

The G2 pulls a lot of power. Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not and the three LEDs will not light up, showing that the power amplifier is not working.

Update a G2 over WiFi:
1) download the non merged firmware binary on your phone or computer. Do this with [https://flasher.meshcore.io flasher.meshcore.io]
2) connect to a companion and then log in to the repeater via the mesh
3) open the command line and type "start ota" - note the web address provided. The G2 will become a WiFi access point.
4) on phone or computer, connect to the Meshcore-OTA wifi
5) use a browser to go to the provided web address from step 3
6) choose the binary file downloaded in step 1 - it will reboot automatically

==== Heltec V4 ====
Transmit power of 22 = 650 mW

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not. You won't know it, but you won't be transmitting at 650 mW. You can see this yourself with a USB current monitor. Hook it up and then send a message. You should see the current jump up considerably. If not, your power supply is not strong enough.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Leave your companion at the default 1-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240 (for 0 hop adverts, in minutes)
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]
: Duty Cycle. Can be set in 1.16+. After each transmission, the repeater enforces a silent period proportional to the on-air time. You are responsible for choosing a value appropriate for your jurisdiction (e.g. EU 868 MHz requires 10% duty cycle).
: set dutycycle 50

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

None at this time. Add an item if you can't find the answer.

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-06-30T17:54:30Z

Jschrempp: /* MeshCore */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

If you want to know about LoRa radio things, go [[Mesh_Networks|here]].

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.io Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://swaits.github.io/meshcore-spec/latest/ Protocol Specification]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
==== Station G2 ====
Transmit power of 10 = 1 watt

If the G2 experiences a brief power outage it will come back in a low power state (all the LEDs are not lit up). Power it down for 60 seconds or so, then power it up.

The G2 pulls a lot of power. Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not and the three LEDs will not light up, showing that the power amplifier is not working.

Update a G2 over WiFi:
1) download the non merged firmware binary on your phone or computer. Do this with [https://flasher.meshcore.io flasher.meshcore.io]
2) connect to a companion and then log in to the repeater via the mesh
3) open the command line and type "start ota" - note the web address provided. The G2 will become a WiFi access point.
4) on phone or computer, connect to the Meshcore-OTA wifi
5) use a browser to go to the provided web address from step 3
6) choose the binary file downloaded in step 1 - it will reboot automatically

==== Heltec V4 ====
Transmit power of 22 = 650 mW

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not. You won't know it, but you won't be transmitting at 650 mW. You can see this yourself with a USB current monitor. Hook it up and then send a message. You should see the current jump up considerably. If not, your power supply is not strong enough.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Leave your companion at the default 1-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240 (for 0 hop adverts, in minutes)
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]
: Duty Cycle. Can be set in 1.16+. After each transmission, the repeater enforces a silent period proportional to the on-air time. You are responsible for choosing a value appropriate for your jurisdiction (e.g. EU 868 MHz requires 10% duty cycle).
: set dutycycle 50

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

None at this time. Add an item if you can't find the answer.

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

Mesh Networks

2026-06-30T17:53:29Z

Jschrempp: /* Radio Things */

There are two open source mesh networks we have experience with: Meshtastic and MeshCore. They both use LoRa technology. LoRa radio technology is low power (1 watt or less) and long range (miles) and line-of-sight. It is also very slow - text messages, not images; certainly not voice. ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHWepP1ZWTk An explanation of LoRa technology.])

Both meshes run on the same inexpensive hardware. Both run without any reliance on the internet. The difference is in architecture.

'''[[Meshtastic]]''' is the older network. Meshtastic used "controlled flooding" protocol. Every client in a Meshtastic network can retransmit messages it receives from other nodes. This makes the network immediately resilient. 100 people hiking in the woods can use Meshtastic nodes to keep in touch. It is a fire-and-forget network; if your node is not connected when a message comes by, you miss it.

'''[[MeshCore]]''' has three kinds of nodes: companion, repeater, room-server. All three will run on the same hardware platforms. A companion node is one you carry with you - a leaf node. Companion nodes do NOT repeat messages. A repeater node, well, repeats messages. That's all it does. A MeshCore mesh requires repeaters to be in positions where they can communicate with other repeaters to spread out messages they receive from companions. MeshCore's room-server has a special task - it hosts an access controlled chat room. Companions can log-in to a room-server and leave messages for others to read.

The same hardware devices support Meshtastic and MeshCore.

Because Meshtastic devices are both client and repeater, people often carry them around and the mesh is constantly reforming. This is great when you are out in the wilds. When you are in a dense urban area all the messages advertising nodes can clog the mesh.

MeshCore repeaters are dedicated devices so they tend to stay in one place. This makes the MC mesh more stable topologically. A reply to a message that goes from router x to y to z can use the return path of z to y to x. There is no need to flood every message. This keeps utilization lower.

=== Radio Things ===

[https://bayme.sh/docs/getting-started/recommended-hardware/ Bay Mesh] has some good hardware recommendations.

Height above ground will dramatically improve your experience. The higher the better. If you drive to the top of a hill your signal will propagate much further. Like A LOT further. In one experiment we got good reception 1/4 mile down the block in an urban setting; the same devices with one on a hill worked at 3 miles! Nothing beats a high placement with clear line of sight.

Line of sight planning tools

* The official [https://site.meshtastic.org/ Site Planner] shows how far your radio will reach
* [https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/ Move two pins and see what's between them]
* Pick a location [https://heywhatsthat.com/ and see the horizon view]
* Give it your location [https://www.peakfinder.com/ and see the peaks]

The cable between your node and the antenna makes a difference. Sometimes you might want the antenna a ways away from your node. Then cable loss can be a big factor and depend on the type of cable. KMR 240 would be fine under 5-10 feet. KMR400 or KRM600 is better and also allows you to go 10-30 feet. It’s usually easier to just put the radio on the pole close to the antenna with a long power or network cable.

Adapters also introduce signal loss. Try to avoid them.

Some antennas have a built in right-angle joint. It seems convenient but in testing several of these we found that while straight they had a SWR of almost 1:1, when in right-angle position the SWR was 3:1 - yikes!

If you have a node that can run high power, like the Station G2, then you can up the RF output to compensate for antenna configuration. What if you have a small unit like a Heltec V3? You might wonder which is better:
* a well tuned 2.5dBi whip antenna with a short cable
* a nice 6dBi antenna with two short cables and an adapter to connect them
If you figure this out, let us know!

[https://stuff.cisien.com/antenna-gain-visualization.html Antenna visualization tool] shows how beam width works.

If you are in a noisy area, then a well tuned RF filter can boost your signal reception dramatically. They are pricey.

What about all those LoRa parameters? [https://unsigned.io/understanding-lora-parameters/ This is a great review] of all the parameters.

MeshCore

2026-06-26T00:25:52Z

Jschrempp: /* Unexplained Things */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

(We have information on [[Mesh_Networks|other mesh networks]] too.)

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.io Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://swaits.github.io/meshcore-spec/latest/ Protocol Specification]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
==== Station G2 ====
Transmit power of 10 = 1 watt

If the G2 experiences a brief power outage it will come back in a low power state (all the LEDs are not lit up). Power it down for 60 seconds or so, then power it up.

The G2 pulls a lot of power. Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not and the three LEDs will not light up, showing that the power amplifier is not working.

Update a G2 over WiFi:
1) download the non merged firmware binary on your phone or computer. Do this with [https://flasher.meshcore.io flasher.meshcore.io]
2) connect to a companion and then log in to the repeater via the mesh
3) open the command line and type "start ota" - note the web address provided. The G2 will become a WiFi access point.
4) on phone or computer, connect to the Meshcore-OTA wifi
5) use a browser to go to the provided web address from step 3
6) choose the binary file downloaded in step 1 - it will reboot automatically

==== Heltec V4 ====
Transmit power of 22 = 650 mW

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not. You won't know it, but you won't be transmitting at 650 mW. You can see this yourself with a USB current monitor. Hook it up and then send a message. You should see the current jump up considerably. If not, your power supply is not strong enough.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Leave your companion at the default 1-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240 (for 0 hop adverts, in minutes)
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]
: Duty Cycle. Can be set in 1.16+. After each transmission, the repeater enforces a silent period proportional to the on-air time. You are responsible for choosing a value appropriate for your jurisdiction (e.g. EU 868 MHz requires 10% duty cycle).
: set dutycycle 50

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

None at this time. Add an item if you can't find the answer.

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-06-26T00:21:48Z

Jschrempp: /* Hardware */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

(We have information on [[Mesh_Networks|other mesh networks]] too.)

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.io Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://swaits.github.io/meshcore-spec/latest/ Protocol Specification]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
==== Station G2 ====
Transmit power of 10 = 1 watt

If the G2 experiences a brief power outage it will come back in a low power state (all the LEDs are not lit up). Power it down for 60 seconds or so, then power it up.

The G2 pulls a lot of power. Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not and the three LEDs will not light up, showing that the power amplifier is not working.

Update a G2 over WiFi:
1) download the non merged firmware binary on your phone or computer. Do this with [https://flasher.meshcore.io flasher.meshcore.io]
2) connect to a companion and then log in to the repeater via the mesh
3) open the command line and type "start ota" - note the web address provided. The G2 will become a WiFi access point.
4) on phone or computer, connect to the Meshcore-OTA wifi
5) use a browser to go to the provided web address from step 3
6) choose the binary file downloaded in step 1 - it will reboot automatically

==== Heltec V4 ====
Transmit power of 22 = 650 mW

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

Make sure you have a USB power supply that can supply the current - the inexpensive ones will not. You won't know it, but you won't be transmitting at 650 mW. You can see this yourself with a USB current monitor. Hook it up and then send a message. You should see the current jump up considerably. If not, your power supply is not strong enough.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Leave your companion at the default 1-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240 (for 0 hop adverts, in minutes)
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]
: Duty Cycle. Can be set in 1.16+. After each transmission, the repeater enforces a silent period proportional to the on-air time. You are responsible for choosing a value appropriate for your jurisdiction (e.g. EU 868 MHz requires 10% duty cycle).
: set dutycycle 50

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-06-26T00:12:19Z

Jschrempp: /* Repeaters */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

(We have information on [[Mesh_Networks|other mesh networks]] too.)

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.io Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://swaits.github.io/meshcore-spec/latest/ Protocol Specification]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Leave your companion at the default 1-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240 (for 0 hop adverts, in minutes)
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]
: Duty Cycle. Can be set in 1.16+. After each transmission, the repeater enforces a silent period proportional to the on-air time. You are responsible for choosing a value appropriate for your jurisdiction (e.g. EU 868 MHz requires 10% duty cycle).
: set dutycycle 50

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

Mesh Networks

2026-06-14T02:59:44Z

Jschrempp: /* Radio Things */

3D Printing and Modeling

2026-06-13T16:45:06Z

Jschrempp: /* Design Tips */

{{About|3D printing and modeling|at the Maker Nexus makerspace in Sunnyvale, CA|[[MN 3D Printers]]}}

= What is 3D printing? =

The two popular versions of 3D printing are:

* '''Building with plastic filament.''' Filament Deposition Modeling (FDM) uses spools of thick plastic thread. This filament passes into a printing head which heats it to a liquid state, then carefully drops it onto the build surface or onto parts of the model. Models are built from the bottom up as the head moves up (or the bed moves down). This method isn't too messy but there can be dangerous fumes with some filament materials.
* '''Curing plastic with a laser.''' A platen is submerged in a vat of resin and a laser shines onto the platen to harden the plastic. Models are built upside down as the platen is pulled up out of the vat. You have to be careful with the liquid resin, and you have to wash the model in alcohol after printing.

In both cases, a hard plastic part is created. You can use a flexible filament or add flex joints into your model to give it movement.

Because the models are constructed with thin layers, they take hours (or days!) to create your part. It's best to plan your project with smaller parts so if the printing doesn't succeed then you don't have to reprint the whole part.

= Safety =

There are more [https://makernexuswiki.com/wiki/MN_Safety safety considerations] than what's listed here. But these are some things we have learned:

== In general ==

3D printing is one of the ''few cases'' where you can start a job and then walk away as it is running. The likelihood of a part (or machine) catching on fire is not as high, provided the machine is in good shape. It is more likely that your print fails and you end up with a spaghetti-like blob on the build plate.

* '''Safety should be the most important priority.''' Always look at the machines and the work area. If something doesn't feel right, stop. If you need help, ask someone or a staff member.
* '''Monitor your print in the beginning.''' It is a good idea to make sure that your print starts as expected. Once you are confident the part is building as expected, you can turn your attention elsewhere.

== Hazards from a hot build plate ==

* '''FDM printer beds can get quite hot.''' If you touch it briefly, you won't like it but you probably won't be burnt.

== Hazards from a hot nozzle ==

* '''FDM nozzles are ''very'' hot!''' The print head literally needs to liquify a solid filament quickly, so these parts should never be touched. They will definitely burn you, or drop hot liquid filament on you.

== Hazards from fumes ==

* '''Plastics like ABS have toxic fumes.''' Be aware that our 3D printers are in an open shared office, so you cannot print ABS. (Except for really small prints, and only in the enclosed printer.) PLA and PTEG are less toxic, but you still shouldn't breathe in their fumes.

== Hazards from a print falling over ==

* If the print falls sideways then the print head is printing in mid air. This usually creates a huge mess. Most messes won't damage the printer, but it may cause a blob to form on the print head.
* '''Use supports where needed.''' Support material is recommended, and almost required for tall or thin parts.

== Hazards from print head blobs ==

* A blob can clog the print nozzle or the printing mechanism. A super bad blob can destroy the print head.

= Materials =

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or1FP43zx3I Review of different filaments]

Prusa has a nice [https://help.prusa3d.com/en/materials materials guide] with interesting information.

== PLA ==

eSun PLA+ is recommended by several people.

Buying PLA online is typically moderate price and reliable.

== Recycling ==

We are often asked about recycling scrap filament. The short story is that we don't.

[https://printcycle.org/ Print Cycle] is a non-profit that recycles 3D printing scrap!

Some companies that recycle plastic have concerns about taking in 3D printed scraps:

# They don't know what additives are in the filament
# They worry that the consumer (or Maker Nexus) will mix types of plastic

This kind of contamination would hurt the purity of their end product, so they are unwilling to accept post-consumer scraps.

There are places that make filament from recycled prints, but they use scrap that they generate so they know its composition. Prusa has [https://blog.prusa3d.com/10-tips-for-saving-filament-money-and-environment_71415/ two interesting] [https://blog.prusa3d.com/prusa-recycling-world-map_83216/ blog posts] about this, and a [https://world.prusa3d.com world map] that shows recycling centers. None are currently in California.

There is a place that [https://recyclingfabrik.com sells recycled filament].

You should not place filament or failed prints in your community recycling stream -- they are not equipped to recycle these materials, and contaminating their batches (if they fail to separate out the materials properly) can render tons of plastic destined for the landfill. Yes, throwing it in the trash is unfortunate, but hobbyist 3D printing is a very small amount of the plastic ecosystem. See [https://indepak.com/pet-petg-plastic-6-facts-need-know/#:~:text=If%20PET%20AND%20PETG%20are,of%20packaging%2C%20and%20here's%20why. this article from a plastic recycling company] for more.

= Find a Model =

== User Contributed Models ==
* [https://www.thingiverse.com Thingiverse] has a wide variety of .STL files to download and use. A great source of ideas. Hosted by Ultimaker, and probably has the largest number of designs.

* [https://www.printables.com/ Printables] is hosted by Prusa.

* [https://thangs.com Thangs] has a lot of models. You can keep yours private. It has some collaboration tools and an interesting version control system for your models.

* [https://grabcad.com/library GrabCAD] is another interesting group of more professional looking models. Includes models of common parts that you can include in your designs. For example, all the Arduino boards are available.

* [https://makerworld.com/en Maker World] is a site that is hosted by Bambu Labs.

* [https://cults3d.com/en Cults 3D] has a lot of high-quality designs, but beware that many will be paid designs. (In my experience, the paid designs are generally inexpensive and high quality. [[User:DavidTomaschik|DavidTomaschik]] ([[User talk:DavidTomaschik|talk]]) 14:05, 3 March 2025 (EST))

== Museums and Government Models ==

* [https://www.myminifactory.com/users/nationalmuseumswe National Museum of Sweden] has scanned their collection of sculpture.

* [https://3d.si.edu/browser The Smithsonian Museum] has many interesting models. Natural history and man-made - anyone want to 3D print a copy of the Apollo Command Module escape hatch?

* [https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/models NASA] has files for their space craft and more.

* [http://jthatch.com/Terrain2STL/ Terrain To STL] will generate a surface mesh of anywhere in the world. There is simple [https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-3D-Print-Topographic-Maps-and-Terrains/ Instructable on how to use it].

* [https://cadmapper.com/ CADMAPPER] will give you terrain AND the buildings that are on it.

== Other Interesting Sites ==

* [https://deckinabox.sgenoud.com/token-tray-fdm Board Game] accessory holders, easy tool to design your own.

== Models for Purchase ==
* [https://www.cgtrader.com/ CGTrader] Lots of models for purchase, including a number of celebrity heads.

TIP: If you have a virtual reality headset, you can import your model to AltspaceVR and interact with it in VR! [[Virtual_Reality#Your_model_in_VR | We have some instructions on how to do this]].

= Get Your Model Printed =

== Own Your Own 3d Printer ==

Having your own printer gives you unlimited time. But you also must be willing to care for the machine. At Maker Nexus we use the Prusa MK3s printers. During our [https://www.makernexus.org/covid-shield-nexus COVID response] they ran continuously for months without a problem. [[3D_Printers|Or join Maker Nexus and use our printers!]]

== Your local Makerspace ==
You're on this wiki, why not join your [[Maker Spaces|local community makerspace]]?

== By Mail ==
If you search the internet for "3d printing service" you will find many that will print your model and send it to you.

= Modeling Software =

== Parametric Modeling ==
Parametric modeling allows you to specify constraints on your designs. One constraint is the length (dimensions) of your design and that makes it easy to adjust the dimensions later. You can also specify angles, tangents, co-linearity, and much more. Some solutions actually require that you dimension everything. One issue for the newby is that when you have only a few constraints and change one the software might "solve" your geometry in a way that you did not anticipate - you use the Undo button a lot until you get used to it. Once you understand constraint use it is very powerful.

* [https://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/fusion-360-for-hobbyists Fusion 360 parametric modeling] for hobbyist and very small businesses. This is a very powerful professional, yet easy to learn, modeling tool. All your designs can be dimensioned which makes it easy to go back and say, "I want this wall to be 23mm instead of 22" and see the whole model regenerate. You can export an .STL file for import into a Slicer. We have a page of [[Fusion 360|Fusion 360 tips]].

* [https://www.freecadweb.org/ FreeCAD] is an open source alternative to Fusion360. It is very powerful but a bit quirkier than Fusion360. If you enjoy open source software, this will do a very good job for you.

* [https://cad.onshape.com/signin OnShape] is a browser based solution. It works a lot like Fusion 360. The free version makes your models open-source. That might be a problem if you're doing a work thing, but if you're just a hobbyist then why not share your designs with the world?

* [https://openscad.org/ OpenSCAD] is a text based parametric modeling solution. They offer a GUI to help you make a well formed modeling file, but the basic file is all text based. You specify objects and locations in space, and boolean operations on them, and more. It's like the MarkUp language of 3D modeling. Some people swear by it because they can know exactly what's going on - no fancy GUI to hide operations from you. You can make extremely sophisticated models with this.

* [https://github.com/SolidCode/SolidPython Solid Python] is a Python library that generates valid OpenSCAD files. If you want to write your own program to generate models in OpenSCAD, try this.

== Organic Modeling ==
This is when you are making some lifelike part. A little figure, a model of a hand, a free form art work. These don't have constraints, you just grab parts of the mesh and pull it into a new position.

* MeshMixer for creating and editing STL files is now part of the Autodesk suite and is included in Fusion360.

* Blender - Used by artists and modelers the world over. A very, very powerful open source application. I tried to use it but felt like a guy who's driven an old car now sitting in a jet fighter trying to fly the thing. Wow. I've seen spectacular things come out of Blender, but not from my hand.

== Simple Modeling ==

These solutions are the easiest to use and are a good place to start if you just want to make something quickly.

* [https://www.sketchup.com/ SketchUp] offers a free version that is very popular with hobbyists. The easy user interface allows one to quickly construct objects. They can be constrained, but that is a bit more work.

* [https://www.tinkercad.com/ TinkerCAD] is so easy that kids can use it right away.

== 3D Scanning ==

If you want to duplicate some thing, there are several ways to create an STL file of that thing.

* High Quality Laser Scanners - Can cost a couple of thousand dollars, but do a great job at capturing fine detail. I've used the Next Engine 3D Scanner to duplicate an old drawer pull with many features.

* Low Cost Laser Scanners - Can cost a couple of hundred dollars and can do a good job on items that have moderate detail. Some of them are do-it-yourself kits. I'm told they can be finicky to get aligned. Search the internet for "3D scanner".

* True Depth Camera - If your smart phone has a camera that reports depth, apps are available to create a model. I've used [http://standardcyborg.com Create 3D by Standard Cyborg] (free) on my iPhone 12 to get superb results. The iPhone 12 only has true depth on the front facing camera, which is awkward for capturing a object other than your face. However, I took several scans and stitched them together with [https://www.meshlab.net/ MeshLab] (free) and the result was exceptional.

* Photogrammetry - This software constructs a 3D model from a bunch of photos. If you want a model of a teapot, you circle the object taking a hundred overlapping photos. You can use this software to construct a much bigger item like a whole house, a room, or even an archaeological site. The more high quality photos, the better the detail. Two I've used are [http://regard3d.org Regard 3D ](free) and [https://www.agisoft.com/ Agisoft Metashape] (free demo mode).

== Cellphone True Depth Camera ==

* Capture 3D: Scan Anything
[http://standardcyborg.com Capture 3D] runs on smart phones with true depth cameras. (The front facing camera on iPhones, for example.) Scanning your face is dead easy and you see the model right on your phone. As you move the phone you need to keep the object mostly in view - makes sense. If you don't, the process stops and you get a model of what you've scanned so far. Since this is just the front facing camera it is a bit tricky to get an object all in one scan.

To use the model requires some post processing. You go to Standard Cyborg's web site and download the models you have created as "point clouds." Then use software like the free MeshLab to stitch your point clouds together and create an STL file. Once you know how to use MeshLab the whole process is very easy.

== Photogrammetry ==

In 2024 a new open source scanner was introduced that shows great promise for smaller models. [https://en.openscan.eu/ OpenScan] is both software, 3D printed parts, and some hardware. [https://hackaday.com/2024/02/19/watch-the-openscan-diy-3d-scanner-in-action/ A review of the scanner.]

I've tried two software apps on my Mac and both did the job. I walked around a person in a chair and took about 140 overlapping photos. After an hour of processing I got a model of the person and also much of the room behind them. The resolution of the model's face was far below that of the true depth camera work, so I did not follow up on these packages.

* [http://regard3d.org Regard 3D ](free) is an open source solution with a gajillion options. I eventually read their documentation and followed what it recommended. It didn't work for my project until I selected L1 for both options on camera triangulation. Then I got nice results. It is a few years old and the database did not have my iPhone model in it. At first I blamed my guessing at the missing "sensor size" parameter for my bad results, but in the end my guess of 5mm seemed to work as well as the commercial software did on the same photo set.

* [https://www.agisoft.com/ Agisoft Metashape] (free demo mode) I'm not sure how long the demo mode lasts, but this did pretty much what Regard 3D did but without all the worries. I could click each step in the processing pipeline and the software just did it. In the end the result was not that different from Regard 3D, but I did not closely compare the output.

== Generative Design ==

Software that takes an idea of what you want and creates a model for you is called Generative Design. It is a new and quickly evolving field.

* [https://www.luban3d.com/ Luban] software is like a Swiss Army knife of 3D meshes. Create a mesh from a photograph. Slice a mesh into layers. Use two images to make a two shadow cube. Some amazing stuff.

* Fusion 360 also does generative design in the paid version. For instance you might have one sketch of the mounting points on the top of a drone, and another sketch floating above that with the mounting points of a small web camera. You select the two and tell Fusion to connect the two with some structure. It generates wild organic shapes that you would never think to do.

== Point Cloud and Mesh Software ==

Sometimes your scanning software will only give you a point cloud and not a mesh. Or you'll want to manipulate the mesh a bit to remove artifacts. In my case I had three point clouds from a scan of a head. I needed to align them, create the mesh, and export it.

* [http://meshlab.net MeshLab download] This is some fabulous open source software. I tried fooling around with it and got frustrated until I found a fabulous step-by-step tutorial that told me exactly what was needed. I could now do the process again in just a few minutes. The tutorial is [http://www.heritagedoc.pt/doc/Meshlab_Tutorial_iitd.pdf on the web]. We also have a copy in the [https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1vhhkMohQiRlBn_dQExRohMpAh29jXi2e MN Members Drive]

I found a mesh was difficult to deal with in Fusion360. Fusion360 has a mesh to BREP feature, but that left me with a ton of triangles and I still had trouble manipulating it. Their community recommended a paid feature to convert a mesh to quads, but then another recommended a free tool:

* [https://github.com/wjakob/instant-meshes Instant Meshes] converts an .OBJ file to a quad mesh.

Fusion360 can be difficult to understand when using a mesh or a surface or a tspline object. Here are some things to remember:

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHtu3CDcZkU convert a mesh to a BREP]

Meshmixer can be used to [https://help.autodesk.com/view/MSHMXR/2019/ENU/?guid=GUID-749E6C72-D82B-4FA9-A157-1AE612B779AE make a surface stl file into a water tight model]

= Printer Control Software =

== Slicers ==

Slicers take your .STL model and do the work to generate GCode that can be sent to a 3D printer.

* [https://www.prusa3d.com/prusaslicer/ Prusa Slicer] is a great tool for your needs. It provides a lot of control over the slicing, grouped into simple, advanced, expert. There are a large number of settings - visit our [[Prusa Slicer | Prusa Slicer Tips]] page.

* [https://slic3r.org/ Slic3r] is the software that Prusa built their slicer on top of. Open source, you may find that leading edge features are here before they appear in the Prusa Slicer.

* [[Prusa Slicer and XL MMU]] has tips and tricks as we learn to use the 5 extruder MMU.

== Remote Control and Monitoring ==

* [https://octoprint.org/ Octoprint] Runs on a Raspberry Pi and, depending on your printer, will let you monitor and remotely control the print. With a camera attached to the RPi you can watch your print from anywhere and intervene if there's a problem.

= Maintenance and Troubleshooting =

== Troubleshooting software ==

* [https://www.pronterface.com/ Pronterface] runs on your laptop and sends commands to your 3D printer from a graphical user interface. It can be very helpful in diagnosing issues with your printer.

== Calibrate the Extruder ==
[https://all3dp.com/2/extruder-calibration-6-easy-steps-2/ An interesting article] on calibrating the extruder on a 3D printer. The basic steps are to ask the printer to extrude a specific amount of filament, measure the actual amount of filament used, then adjust the extruder constant (steps per mm of filament used) to reflect the actual value. Then remeasure. On one printer, I found the default was extruding 102.5mm when it was supposed to be extruding 100. I think this was making rough top layers on my prints. It can also affect what you think is the correct height adjustment for the first layer if you rely on a printed patch that you feel for smoothness. The linked article walks through the process, including a couple of g-codes you need to be able to send to do run the test and set the adjustment.

= Techniques =

== Tips on Printing ==

A very good [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_ZGZe-pbTI video about support material] and how you can optimize it.

How to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKrDUnZCmQQ make box lids that fit]

== Other sites ==

[https://www.3dhubs.com/talk/thread/best-printing-practices-makerbot-replicator-2-and-2x Best Practices at 3D Hub].

[https://www.prusaprinters.org/how-to-print-maps-terrains-and-landscapes-on-a-3d-printer/ How to get and print a 3D landscape of anywhere]

[https://all3dp.com/2/annealing-pla-prints-for-strength-easy-ways/ Annealing your printed PLA model] can dramatically increase its strength.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kbjZobJtbM 3D print your own filament] to give you new colors or variegation. Then print with your own custom filament.

[http://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/S62.12/people/vernelle.noel/Plastic_Snap_fit_design.pdf Design of snap joints in plastic.] A great reference.

== Ceilings in your model ==

The MakerBot software defaults do NOT do a good job at putting roofs over some parts. To correct this you need to modify your device settings. Look for the "create a profile" button. First select the correct device, material, etc. Now click Create A Profile. Give it a name. It will now open in Notepad. Look for the setting of "roofThickness". Set it to 3.

You could try changing "roofLayerCount_disabled" to "roofLayerCount_enabled". I have not tried that.

== Design Tips ==

[https://m.all3dp.com/2/engineering-tolerance-definition-drawing/ Designing for tolerance in your printing process] A good discussion of part tolerances with FDM printing and how to include these tolerances in your design.

[https://hackaday.com/2022/05/01/bend-your-prints-to-eliminate-supports/ Avoid supports] by designing your model to be folded.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI8OgRRF5d8 Dovetail joints] in 3D printing. A nice overview of the technique.

[https://youtube.com/watch?v=YnaUSkiGOOE&is=P7KetP7A6Na1LzpH Using binder clip] as a spring in your design.

== Surface Finishing ==

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4e9JJkinvk Card scrapers] can make your surfaces smooth faster than sanding.

[https://youtu.be/KVf0mbBCygQ?si=N7xPGp12x__m-td- UV Resin and cornstarch] for a mirror smooth finish

== Clever or Interesting Projects ==

[https://youtu.be/y0Q9F-73Tio?si=TcSwX_rXQepxuO-P&t=149 Dual text illusion made with Fusion 360]

Starting a Maker Space

2026-06-08T11:56:01Z

Jschrempp: /* Great Examples */

=Resources for Creating A New Space=

==Use Maker Nexus Documents==
Part of the Maker Nexus mission is to help other non-profit makerspaces. This wiki of information is one example. We also release all of our documents under the [[Makernexuswiki:Copyrights|Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license]]. You can see the material we have released at this [https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OVtDCs4H-r3UAqqseN0YeRGuM22ZraeF public repository]. We usually keep our documents in our members-only share while we develop them and move them into the public space when they are pretty much complete. If you want some kind of document not in the public repository, please send an email to info@makernexus.org and we'll see if we can help.

==What to do first==
If you are thinking of starting a makerspace, here are some of the very first things you should do - like right now. This list came from what Maker Nexus did to get started and, frankly, includes a few things we didn't do right away but I came to wish that we had.

# Gather contacts. You will be talking about your idea with a lot of people. Every single time you talk to anyone, get their contact information. Email and phone number (and name). If someone was interested enough to hear your idea, ask them if you can keep in touch. Building a makerspace (or any local consumer based business) is about building community.
# Pick a temporary name. This is just a place holder so people can remember you. Use your location. Maybe "iowamakers" or "rapidcitymakers", descriptive is good. It does not have to be fancy. Maker Nexus used bayareamakers at first.
# Setup Gmail. Get a new GMail account with your temporary name. iowamakers@gmail.com will be a great place for people to send you email. You won't confuse email with your day job or personal email and you can search it to find those things you forget when you get busy. As things pick up you can have someone else handle this email account too.
# One page website. You need this so you can give people your URL. This does not have to be fancy, or reflect what you actually do long term. Don't wait. [http://wix.com Wix] provides free web sites that are super easy to create. Get a site with your temp name like iowamakers.wix.com and put up one page with your contact information. As your vision becomes more clear you can update this. If you're willing to pay Wix a $100 you can get your own domain for a year like www.iowamakers.com Your own domain looks more official, but isn't strictly necessary until you pick a real name in a few months.
# Facebook. If you aren't already on Facebook, create an account. Then create a "group" with your temp name, Iowa Makers. As you meet people and talk about your ideas, ask them to join your group on Facebook. This helps you build community.
# Cheap business cards. Many places on the web will make you 500 business cards for $20. iPrint is one. Get your website URL, your Facebook group, and your email on it. You may not need 500 cards, but let's hope you do! Every time you talk with someone about your idea, give them 10 cards and ask them to hand them to other people. You want to get people hooked into your growing community. You should always have a couple of cards in your wallet; so should everyone on your core team. Have some fun with it; challenge each other - "hey Tom, nice to see you. Can you show me an Iowa Makers business card?"
# [http://mailchimp.com Mailchimp] is an online mass email service that is free until you have over 1,000 contacts. Get an account and enter all your contacts into Mailchimp. This is your first CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. Once you have more than a handful of contacts it will be difficult to send updates to everyone through your personal email account. Mailchimp has some very sophisticated email features that you can grow into. Once you have 100 contacts, start sending out a short newsletter every 6 weeks. Let people know what you're thinking, what you're doing, and solicit their advice and help.
# Outreach. Get a free table at your local farmers market every few weeks. Hand out business cards. Create a Meetup Group. Post on Nextdoor. Every once in a while have a meeting at the local library to talk about what you are building; advertise this in Eventbrite.
# Core team meetings. By now you should have 2 or 3 other people who are excited and passionate about creating a makerspace. If you really want to do it you need to meet once a week for an hour. Establish a regular meeting time and place. MN met every Sunday evening at 7PM for 18 months before we opened the doors. This may sound like a lot of work, because it is a lot of work. If your team isn't ready to start meeting every week, you might want to seriously think about whether you will be successful.

==Great Examples==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xglii2ZkNAg Walkthrough] the Urban Workshop space. A very inspiring tour.
* [[Why do we need makerspaces?]]
* [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ltRsSjdqby14saX7jfEkR8rVaRXD9ijtsPv8bjo8DNk/edit?tab=t.0 The Ultimate Makerspace Resource Guide]

==Organizing==
* [https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/15aW0V3zFt6ynjkcC1YFIGuYDwOReyfJT A Place to Make] helps you think about what kind of makerspace you want to have.
* [https://nationofmakers.us/ Nation of Makers] US non-profit helping maker spaces.
* [https://www.sba.gov/blog/let-your-business-plan-map-your-path-success SBA resources] for writing a business plan
* [https://nationofmakers.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/make-a-space-kit.pdf How-to guide from Nation of Makers], an excellent document.
* [https://makezine.com/2016/03/21/made-baltimore-business-planning-makerspaces/ How to set your membership price]
* [https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/15aW0V3zFt6ynjkcC1YFIGuYDwOReyfJT A presentation on the process of organizing], help guiding the conversation with your initial group of friends.
* [http://prattcenter.net/sites/default/files/toolkitfinaljune4.pdf Non-profit real estate development]
* [http://aproe.com/machine-shop-setup/ APROE, a company the specializes in machine shop set-up]
* [http://www.openworksbmore.com/connect/blog/ Open Works Baltimore, blog on how they started]
* [https://formlabs.com/blog/how-to-build-a-makerspace/ A guide from FormLabs: Incentives and Ingredients for Building a Makerspace]
* [[Makerspace organizing experiences]]
* [[Tax Exempt Status]]
* [[Getting City Help in Opening a Makerspace]]
* [https://makered.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Youth-Makerspace-Playbook_FINAL.pdf Youth Makerspace Playbook]
* [https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53b2a0eae4b0ad0f45a1b42f/t/591c78f96a4963872bf5d2b0/1495038228869/MakerspacesPub_v15.pdf Making and Learning in Museums and Libraries]
* [[NAICS code]] for a makerspace

==Infrastucture==
* [[CRM Customer Relationship Management|CRM: Managing Your Membership List]] - Some of these systems do a lot of the other functions all in one integrated system.
* [[Access Control Systems]] - For doors and machines
* [[Machine Maintenance Tracking]]
* [[Scheduling Software]] - To make reservations
* [[Asset Tracking]]
* [http://www.makernet.work/ Maker Network] is creating free software for makerspaces
* [https://www.cerego.com Online class repository]
* [https://www.maker-works.com/member-handbooks Member Handbook] for Maker Works.

==Suites==
These solutions cover several functions you might need.
* [https://www.cobot.me/pricing Cobot]
* [http://clubexpress.com Club Express] affinity group management - like a club
* [http://ezfacility.com EZFacility] makerspace management based on a gym model
* [https://amilia.com Amilia] makerspace management based on a park and rec model (Maker Nexus uses Amilia)

==Tools==

* An interesting concept: [https://www.maker-works.com/great-recipes Standard Operating Procedures]
* A great [http://www.ehs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/lines-of-services/workplace-safety/machineguardingprogram.pdf safety guide from Berkeley]
* [http://www.powertoolinstitute.com/ Safety training from Power Tool Institute]
* [[Safety Training]]

==Fixtures==
* [https://www.simplifiedbuilding.com/projects/diy-table-ideas Make your own sturdy tables]

[[Category:Makerspace]]

==Education==
Links to several kinds of education:
* Basic Operation Safety Standard (BOSS) - Use a piece of equipment safely.
* Skill Improvement - Projects aimed at improving a particular maker skill. Dovetail joints, Laser Cutter use of color, 3D printer wall thickness, anything you can think of.
* Project Classes - Classes where the students build some specific thing. Personalized 3D printed key fob, book case, bird feeder, purse, etc.
* Merit Badges - Classes for scouts that help them earn a specific merit badge.
* Other
** [http://mjmarggraff.com/gravitygames/ Gravity Games] has a team of teens make a game for printing and playing in space.
** [https://www.nutsandboltsfoundation.org/camps/host-a-camp Nuts Bolts and Things]. You can host one of their camps.

MN 3D Printers

2026-05-26T18:31:30Z

Jschrempp: /* Equipment Training Documents */

[[Category:Equipment]]
[[Category:Clean Shop]]

[[File:mn-3dprinters.jpeg|400px]]
[[File:mn-resin.jpeg|400px]]
[[File:mn-filament.jpeg|400px]]

==FDM 3D Printers==

* 8 [https://www.prusa3d.com/downloads/manual/prusa3d_manual_mk3s_en_3_11.pdf Prusa i3 Mk3S+] printers
** Build Volume: 250 x 200 x 200 mm
**Loads Files From: SD Card
**Nozzle Diameter: 0.4mm
**Multimaterial: No
**Automatic Sheet Detection: No
**PrusaSlicer Profile: Original Prusa i3 MK3S & MK3S+ (0.4 nozzle)

* 1 [https://www.prusa3d.com/downloads/manual/prusa3d_manual_xl_104_en.pdf Prusa XL 5 Head Multimaterial] printer
**Build Volume: 360 x 360 x 360 mm
**Loads Files From: USB Stick
**Standard Nozzle Diameter: 0.4mm
**Multimaterial: Yes, with mixed filament types
**Automatic Sheet Detection: Yes
**PrusaSlicer Profile: Original Prusa XL - 5T Input Shaper 0.4 nozzle

* 3 [https://www.prusa3d.com/downloads/manual/prusa3d_manual_mk4s_mk39s_101_en.pdf Prusa MK4S] printers with [https://www.prusa3d.com/downloads/manual/prusa3d_manual_mmu3_en_1_03.pdf MMU3] for multicolor printing
**Build Volume: 250 x 210 x 220 mm
**Loads Files From: USB Stick
**Standard Nozzle Diameter: 0.4mm
**Multicolor: Yes, with same filament type
**Automatic Sheet Detection: Yes
**PrusaSlicer Profile: Original Prusa MK4S MMU3 0.4 nozzle

==Resin 3D Printers==

* 1 FormLabs Form 3 resin printer (build volume 14.5 × 14.5 × 19.3 cm)

==Filament==
Filament is NOT included in the membership fee.

We have a limited supply of donated community filament that you can use. If you make big parts or a lot of small parts, then you should purchase your own spool(s) of filament from our retail area or online. You might consider buying an extra spool and donating it to the common supply.

Currently all of the 3D Printers owned by Maker Nexus use '''1.75mm''' filament.

Most of the printing done by members is PLA, PETG, and TPU.

ABS emits a strong odor when printing so we allow only small ABS prints (the rule of thumb is 2x2x2 in) and it must be used in the enclosed Prusa MK3s.

Filaments with fillers (glitter, glow in the dark powder, wood fiber, carbon fiber, etc.) should be printed with a Hardened Steel Nozzle. These nozzles are installed on several Mk3S printers, as well as one of our XL printers. Look for the label on the printer housing.

Some metallic-look filaments do not have fillers in them (these are generally called silk filaments). If you're unsure as to whether your filament has filler, run your hand over the plastic. Filled plastics will feel slightly rough.

==Use Resrictions==

===Number of Printers===
Limit the number of printers you use simultaneously. We ask that you use no more than:

* One reservable printer at a time (Prusa XL or Prusa MK4S+MMU)
* Two printers total. You can use up to 4 single color printers, so long as the print time of each print is under 1 hour.

===Print Time===
We try to make sure that everyone at Maker Nexus can access the printers when they need them. Limit your print time on any individual printer to 48 hours. After a 48 hour print, please leave the machine available to others for at least 24 hours before starting your next print.

If you need to use multiple rolls of filament to get your work finished within the time limit, you can set up SpoolJoin on the Multimaterial machines to automatically change to the next spool. Please don’t leave a print waiting for a filament change for long periods of time.

== Slicers ==

*[[Prusa Slicer]]
*Cura

==General Info==

=== Equipment Training Documents===
*[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vdW1s18Hb9kK5esf6CbvBxBls9iI3xm39ZJR1RvEbtA/edit?tab=t.0 3D Printing with Prusa FDM Printers]
*[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oATjCNQYaHCrVBjNqSAHyeLIDqMVk16OgbEXNvUa9I4/edit?tab=t.0 Resin 3D Printing with Form 3]

You must be logged in with your Maker Nexus Google account to view training documents.

=== FDM Materials ===
The three types of filament allowed on the open air printers are PLA, PETG and TPU. We also allow ABS, ASA, PC and HIPS printing on our single color enclosed MK3S. Other filaments are not allowed; see our [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RRtpL_ArT8bmhTwsHfWM0S00QUXDS4GYwntXJ3arVms/ class handout] for more info. If you have a type of filament that isn't listed, visit the #3DPrinters channel on Slack to ask about it!

Carbon fiber-filled PLA or PETG is very strong. It MUST be printed on a printer that has a hardened steel nozzle installed. For less aggressive filled filaments (glow in the dark, wood, matte etc.) please use a printer with the hardened steel nozzle if one is available.

=== Changing Filament ===
Changing filaments is responsible for most clogs. These instructions will help keep our printers printing. Whenever you're changing filaments, always preheat to the highest temperature of the two filaments.

When you approach a 3D printer it will have filament from the previous user in the extruder. If the reel is still there, look to see what the material was and select the appropriate temperature to Unload the Filament.

Often, the previous user will have clipped the filament and taken their reel with them. The only thing you'll see is a pig tail of filament out of the top of the extruder. Trying to Unload the Filament with a temperature too low to melt the filament will not work and may damage the extruder.

The rule is: '''if you don't know what material was in there before you, pre-heat to 255''' which is hot enough to melt any existing filament material and then Unload the Filament. Then load your filament at this high temperature and extrude lots of material to make sure all the old material is gone.

Set the preheat temp to what is appropriate for your filament material and start printing.

If you have enough 3D printers, you might designate one printer for just PETG, to avoid this issue.

===Home Machine Maintenance - Big Globs of Plastic===

If you see a large ball of plastic attached itself to the nozzle and heat block, ask for help from a staff member! However, if you're looking for tips on fixing the on your home machine, here is a guide. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS ON A MAKER NEXUS MACHINE.

Don't try to remove the plastic while it is cold, you will break things every time. Typically, first thing to do is to remove the filament through a normal filament unload (preheat the nozzle ONLY - no need to preheat bed & unload filament). Then, raise the z axis so you have plenty of room to access the ball'o'plastic. Bring the nozzle temperature up to 30-40 degrees over your printing temperature. Be careful, this is obviously going to have hot plastic all over the place, and it sticks to skin. Wear gloves, use tools, do not try to grab plastic with your bare hand!!!

Once the hot end is at temperature, slowly begin pulling out loose plastic. What is contacting the hot end will get molten. Start scooping/pulling it out, push more plastic against the hot end, repeat. Be very careful of the wires attached to the hot end. There will be two sets, one for the heater cartridge, one for the thermistor. If you damage either, you'll be replacing them. Work the plastic blob into contact with the hot end until it starts to soften (as a blob). You can then try to start working larger chunks free, but again, don't force it, the wrapping for the thermistor, in particular, likes to bond to melted filament because it is a woven wrap. Some time and heat will free up the hot end. Once the majority is gone, cleaning up with a coarse paper towel that won't leave towel fibers is fairly easy. Again, it's HOT, be careful.

So that's what you do if you're at home, if it's one of our printers, ask for staff!

Typically, a failure like this is a first layer adhesion issue. If it failed after the first layer, there are a lot of potential causes.
A good takeaway though: get a staff member to deal with it. There are specific ways to clean that up, but if you do it wrong, you'll break wires. In this case, we lost a $9 thermistor. Not a big deal.

=== Speeding Up Your Print ===
An article [https://newatlas.com/algorithms-3d-printing/52049) using filtered B-splines] algorithms to minimize 3D printer vibrations. The article claimed about a 2x speed improvement. The U of Michigan researchers now have a website [http://www.ulendo.io/ looking for beta testers] who have a Taz 6 3D printer.

An article [http://projects.ttlexceeded.com/3dprinting_techniques_covid_printing.html about splicer settings] to maximize volumetric flow.

=== Heating Bed ===
Heated beds can have temperature variance across their surface leading to different adhesion success. One person recommended a hotter bed temperature so that the edges of the bed are at the desired temp. Here is a [https://youtu.be/yPy0zDpmc5U video evaluating different beds] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sW25xt5E6U part 2].

== 3D Modeling ==
See our page on [[3D Printing and Modeling]]

Back to [[Maker_Nexus_Equipment]]

MeshCore

2026-05-17T15:12:49Z

Jschrempp: /* Documentation */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

(We have information on [[Mesh_Networks|other mesh networks]] too.)

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.io Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://swaits.github.io/meshcore-spec/latest/ Protocol Specification]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Leave your companion at the default 1-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240 (for 0 hop adverts, in minutes)
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-05-17T14:50:49Z

Jschrempp: /* Misc Info */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

(We have information on [[Mesh_Networks|other mesh networks]] too.)

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Random Things ===
: If your clock is off try '''clock sync'''. If it complains about "going backwards" then to '''clkreboot''' and then '''clock sync'''.

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Leave your companion at the default 1-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240 (for 0 hop adverts, in minutes)
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-05-17T14:46:05Z

Jschrempp: /* Repeaters */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

(We have information on [[Mesh_Networks|other mesh networks]] too.)

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: Adverts are sent by repeaters just to help the analysis of the mesh. We could have the entire mesh set up without repeater adverts and it would work fine.
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Leave your companion at the default 1-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240 (for 0 hop adverts, in minutes)
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-05-17T00:05:02Z

Jschrempp: /* Documentation */

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

(We have information on [[Mesh_Networks|other mesh networks]] too.)

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

* [https://zindello.com.au/meshcore-regions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter/ Regions: What they are and how they work]

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Don't set your companion to 2-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-05-15T18:31:58Z

Jschrempp:

== MeshCore ==

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

(We have information on [[Mesh_Networks|other mesh networks]] too.)

MeshCore is an open source mesh network that runs on top of [[Mesh_Networks|LoRa radio technology]]. It is low bandwidth and only suitable for text messaging. It is also very low power and long range (10's of miles) line-of-sight. It is different from [[Meshtastic]] in that it relies on dedicated repeater hardware. This hardware is still owned by individuals and deployed as they see fit. Because Meshcore repeaters are dedicated devices they tend to stay in one place and can be used to route messages instead of always flooding a message.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Don't set your companion to 2-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-05-15T18:26:30Z

Jschrempp: /* Misc Info */

MeshCore

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

(We have information on [[Mesh_Networks|other mesh networks]] too.)

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Radio Tips ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|tips here.]]

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Don't set your companion to 2-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-05-15T18:25:16Z

Jschrempp:

MeshCore

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

(We have information on [[Mesh_Networks|other mesh networks]] too.)

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Don't set your companion to 2-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

Meshtastic

2026-05-15T18:23:57Z

Jschrempp: /* Overview */

== Overview ==

(We have info on [[Mesh_Networks|other mesh networks]])

Meshtastic is an open source, low bandwidth mesh network that runs on 933MHz in the U.S. It runs on LoRa radio technology which is very low power, line of sight. Nodes can broadcast for miles if you are high on a hill. In an urban, flat area you might get 0.25 miles. But the power of the mesh is that if just one node can hear your message, then it can be relayed on to others.

Some people use these nodes when they are out camping in the wilderness without any cell phone service. The nodes automatically repeat messages and share their GPS location. It's a great way for a team to stay in touch.

Of course if you are the only person in your area running a Meshtastic node, then you won't have anyone to chat with. If you want to join a local mesh then you should web search for a group of enthusiasts in your area. Often an area will use radio settings that are different from the defaults, so you need to know what they are. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area there is an active group named [https://bayme.sh Bay Mesh]. They use Discord to help people grow the mesh.

You can buy a node for as little as $25. The node pairs with your phone over Bluetooth and you control it via the Meshtastic app. Once you have your node running you can send text messages to other nodes, or send a message to the "general" channel. Channels are encrypted but the General channel has a default encryption key of AQ== so everyone can read those messages.

You can read up on this fascinating technology at the [https://meshtastic.org/docs/introduction/ Meshtastic web site].

Check out their [https://meshtastic.org/docs/terms/ glossary of terms] and their [https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/tips/ configuration tips].

The first Meshtastic node was probably Kevin Hester, one of the guys who kicked off the whole thing. It got going sometime around 2018 or 2019. Not sure what the first LongName, ShortName, or Hex ID was. Here's an [https://www.qrz.com/articles/node_1718399850 article on the history of Meshtastic]

== Why this page? ==

While the documentation is good, it feels like a lot is left unsaid. This page holds tips, tricks, and just bits of knowledge that we have come across in bringing up our own nodes into the BayMesh. If you read something here that you know is in the docs, please comment or email and we'll replace whatever we have here with a link to the official docs. OR, if you read something here that you think is wrong or off base, please post to the #docs channel on [https://discord.com/invite/ktMAKGBnBs Discord].

Hopefully we'll get this knowledge into the official docs, but that can take a while. In the meantime, this page can be updated on the spur of the moment.

AND, if the reader feels like it, please take information from this page and add it to the official docs.

== Low Level Details ==

Low level, but still crucial to get right.

=== Radio Things ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|Tips on Radio hardware]]

=== Protocol Details ===

Best to read [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/mesh-algo/ the official docs]

=== LoRa Details ===

Meshtastic runs over LoRa. LoRa is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirp_spread_spectrum spread spectrum technology]. Read [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/ Meshtastic overview] for a good start.

LoRa spread spectrum technology is very good in noisy environments. The radio can reliably receive data at -14dB or better.

The LoRa Physical Header contains a sync word, which is a unique identifier that allows different LoRa networks to distinguish themselves. For Meshtastic, this sync word is set to 0x2B. This allows Meshtastic radios to recognize and process packets that are intended for their network and filter out other LoRa traffic that might be on the same frequency.

For those familiar with LoRa you might wonder what settings are used. Meshtastic allows any of the LoRa parameters, but also supplies a number of "presets". This is important because radios must use the same LoRa settings (e.g. network id, bandwidth, spreading factor, frequency slot) to be able to communicate. For example, if some nodes use a spreading factor of 7 and others use 9, they will not communicate; you will have two meshes. There are a few exceptions.

Coding Rate does not affect the ability to communicate between nodes. A node in a noisy environment could choose to use a lower coding rate and still participate in the network. The lower coding rate would only affect communication to the first hop. Lower coding rate will make the messages take more air time, thus increasing congestion.

The actual center radio frequency used is configured using the Frequency Slot. Nodes using different Slots cannot communicate with each other. Different regions have a different number of Slots available. The number of slots also depends on the LoRa Bandwidth setting. [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/radio-settings/#north-america-frequency-bands More info] Note that Medium Slow uses Slot 52; Medium Fast, 45; Long Fast, 20. Use the [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/radio-settings/#frequency-slot-calculator frequency calculator] to discover the actual center frequency.

On iOS, if you set the Slot to 0, then the firmware will pick a Slot based on the name of your Primary Channel. Your Primary Channel name should either be blank, or match the camel case name of the preset you use. For example, if you set Frequency Slot to 0 when using the Medium Slow preset, your Primary Channel name should be MediumSlow or blank. If not, you will not be on the same Frequency Slot as the general population of nodes using Medium Slow preset.

By choosing LoRa settings and/or frequency slot that does not match one of the presets you will create your own independent mesh. But where's the fun in that?

==== Long Fast? Medium Slow? Something Else? ====

Presets make it easy for different people to configure their nodes into the same mesh. As said above, if the user configures these settings by hand, they have to get all of them exactly the same.

The Presets were created to offer a balance of distance and speed but to be more biased towards distance rather than speed. Long Fast is actually pretty slow, but gives long distance.

In areas where the mesh is more dense we can tip the balance towards speed rather than distance. Even though it is called "Medium Slow", this Preset is still faster than Long Fast at the expense of a little bit of distance.

([https://k2xap.radio/mesh/lora-shapes LoRa shapes] is an interesting dive into this.)

Speed is important in a busy mesh. The slower the transmission, the longer each message takes. And if two nodes transmit at the same time then no nodes will be able to understand the message. Faster speed means less air time for each message and lower overall utilization of the mesh air waves - less congestion.

Many other meshes are starting to bias even further towards speed by using Medium Fast, Short Fast, etc. You can [https://meshtastic.org/blog/why-your-mesh-should-switch-from-longfast/ read the article on it].

== The Mesh ==

=== Time Windows ===
With all the nodes rebroadcasting messages you might think the mesh would collapse from congestion; Meshtastic uses some clever algorithms to prevent this.

First, there are three different time windows that a node might broadcast in: Early, Default, Late.
# The Early window is used by Routers and Repeaters - nodes in strategic positions. When these nodes rebroadcast a message a lot of other nodes will hear them and decide not to rebroadcast the message.
# The Default window is used by Client and other variations of Client. This is the main rebroadcast window that nodes use. Below we will describe how nodes decide when to rebroadcast a message.
# The Late window starts after the Default window. It starts after the end of the longest client resend wait window (a second or two). This gives Client nodes a chance to mesh messages before the ROUTER_LATE resend would shut them down. It is used by ROUTER_LATE to rebroadcast a message without disturbing the normal mesh that is being handled by other node types.

=== Managed Flood Routing ===

* When a message is received a node does not immediately resend it. It puts the message in a queue to resend. The queue can hold 30 messages of all types. If the queue is full, then older messages are dropped; this should only happen in the case of high network congestion.
* Nodes keep a list of the messages they have recently received. When a node is ready to resend a message it checks if the message is already on that list; if so then the node does not resend it.
* A node that receives a message notes the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the transmission. A node waits some time before resending the message. The stronger the signal it received, the longer it waits before resending. The idea here is that a high SNR means the sending node is nearby; a low SNR means the sending node is far away. With this algorithm nodes that are furthest from the sender (theoretically) will resend the message first thus pushing the message further away from the sending node. Nodes between the sender and the rebroadcaster will see the resend and that will stop them from resending the message. The range is between 0 and 16 multiples of the slot time.
* Each node monitors the radio utilization. If the utilization is "too high" it waits for the utilization to drop below a certain value.
* When a node is ready to send a message it monitors the radio and waits for a time when the air waves are clear (Channel Activity Detection or CAD). The amount of time needed for this process is called a "slot time".

=== About Device Roles ===

An interesting blog post about [https://meshtastic.org/blog/choosing-the-right-device-role/ choosing the right device role]. And one specifically about [https://meshtastic.org/blog/demystifying-router-late/ ROUTER_LATE]. Both are good reads.

* 2.7.10 introduced a new role CLIENT_BASE. It acts as ROUTER for messages that are to/from a Favorite node. Otherwise acts as CLIENT. This role is useful for a rooftop node that acts as the connection for your other nodes. For instance, your house has a handful of lower power nodes that have trouble being heard by the mesh. You set them to CLIENT_MUTE and put one node on your roof in the CLIENT_BASE role. That high up node will make sure your other nodes can send and receive to the larger mesh.

* A ROUTER node resends quickly in the Early window and it always sends every message it gets. The assumption is that only nodes in key mesh positions will be set to ROUTER. When the ROUTER node sends a message many clients waiting to resend the message will hear the ROUTER's resend and then not resend the message themselves. If everyone runs as ROUTER then every node would be sending every message, "managed flood routing" goes away, and the mesh will collapse from over utilization.

* A ROUTER_LATE node will first act as a normal Client and work the managed flooding algorithm during the default window. However, if it loses the race and sees another node rebroadcast during the Default window, then it will still resend the message in the Late window. This is intended for the case of a directional antenna that is specifically pointed to link to another far away area. Think of this as "try to be normal but if someone shuts you down, then wait until the other mesh nodes are done, and speak anyway".

== Messages ==

When a node wants to send a message, it waits for a clear time on the radio. See [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/mesh-algo/#carrier-sense-multiple-access-with-collision-avoidance-csmaca the doc]. A node will buffer up to 30 messages waiting for a clear time or while waiting for the send timer on any particular message. At 25% utilization, telemetry and other low value messages will start getting dropped.

When a message is sent, remote nodes in the same mesh may receive it and decide to resend it.

A broadcast message is one sent with no recipient. For example, automated Node Info and telemetry "broadcasts". Any message sent on one of the Channels (see below) is considered a broadcast message because it does not have a recipient. If the sending node hears its message rebroadcast by another node, then the message is marked "acknowledged".

Messages that are not acknowledged will be resent up to two more times. Typically within a few seconds.

A direct message (DM) is one sent with a designated recipient node. Nodes are designated using their hex id. For example, !432e1cd4 When the sending node hears its message rebroadcast by another node, the status becomes "acknowledged by another node". When the message reaches the designated recipient node, that remote node will reply with an ACK message. If that message makes it back to the sending node, then the message status is "acknowledged" and a green lock icon appears on the message (iOS).

Note that a mesh is dynamic. A message might make it to another node and be rebroadcast, yet the originating node does not hear the rebroadcast for some reason, so it sends the message again. If this happens 3 times the status will be "Max Retries Reached", even though the message made it to the mesh. Or the ACK from a recipient might be lost on the way back to the sender. These things can be more common in a mesh that is experiencing congestion. So your local node might think a message was not acknowledged even though the message was received by the mesh and the designated recipient.

The longer the message, the more likely it is to fail. Reason being, these devices have relatively slow data transfer rates. The signal has to be strong enough at the receiving end for the entire message. Shorter messages are less likely to be 'broken' by having bits lost in transmission.

Each message is sent to a "port" with port numbers being:
* 1: "Text"
* 67: "Telemetry"
* 3: "Position"
* 70: "Traceroute"
* 4: "Node Info"
* 71: "Neighbour Info"
* 73: "Map Report"

=== Encrypted Send Failed ===

A node sending a DM to a remote node may get the "Encrypted Send Failed" message. This happens when the sending node has a public key that does not match the key of the recipient node. These keys are kept in the NodeDB and advertised by periodic Node Info messages. A node might have a bad key for a remote client that has changed its public key, perhaps through a full reinstall of the firmware. To correct this, the sending node should delete the remote node from its NodeDB and wait for the entry to be added again. Having the remote node send a message on the Primary Channel that the local node sees can facilitate this.

=== No Channel ===

Similar to the Encrypted Send Failed error, this can happen when the recipient node has aged out of the device NodeDB after the phone app has already pulled the NodeDB. Thus the phone app has a node in it that is not present in the device NodeDB. Fix this by exiting the phone app and reconnecting to the device.

Note, however, that if the recipient node is no longer in the device NodeDB, then you will not see it in your node list after restarting the app - that node is gone. To prevent this, you should mark nodes as "favorite". Nodes that are marked as Favorite are not aged out of the device NodeDB.

(In a future version of the apps, any node that you DM will automatically be marked as a Favorite.)

== Configuration Notes ==

The default is "Client". In this mode your node will participate in the mesh by retransmitting messages it receives. (This is a simplification, read the Meshtastic web site for more details.) However, this can clog up the mesh. Unless you are building your own network in some remote wilderness, your nodes should always be configured as "Client Mute", or "Client Hidden". NEVER configure as "Repeater" or "Router" until you know your local mesh needs that.

One exception - Suppose you have several devices in your home / building. In this case you could have one node put up high, maybe in the attic or on the roof, set to "Client" while all your other nodes are "Client Mute". This way your mute node messages will get picked up by your roof top node and it will send them on to further nodes.

=== Channels ===

The Meshtastic documentation uses the term "Channel" when discussing radio (modem) presets. This is confusing. I discourage the use of Channel when talking about radio presets.

A Channel in Meshtastic is a communication mesh on top of the radio mesh. Each channel has a name and an encryption key. When a node receives a message it will try to decrypt it. The clear text message header has a hint in it (a one byte hash of the channel name) so the receiving node can guess which encryption key in its configuration to try - it does not have to try them all. If a node has the correct decryption key for the message, then it can read the contents.

While nodes in the mesh will rebroadcast channel messages, only nodes that know the channel name and encryption key can read the messages sent on that channel. If a node can read a message is it considered to be on a "local" mesh; other messages are considered on a "foreign" mesh.

Nodes can be set to only rebroadcast messages that are on their "local" mesh.

When a node receives a message that it can decrypt, it adds the originating node to its NodeDB and traffic from or to that node is considered "local". Note that setting a node to rebroadcast only "local" mesh traffic does not clear out the NodeDB. So it is possible that after setting a node to rebroadcast only "local" mesh traffic, it will continue to send messages that it is unable to decrypt. This will continue until the nodes addressed in the messages are aged out of the NodeDB. So, if you want to immediately stop forwarding "foreign" mesh traffic you should set local-only and clear your NodeDB. < Could use some double checking on this point. >

Each node has one Primary Channel, Channel 0. The name of the Primary Channel is used to determine the Frequency Slot that the node radio uses. Only nodes that use the same Frequency Slot can participate in a mesh. The user can also manually set the Frequency Slot, then the name of the Primary Channel is irrelevant. [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/radio-settings/#north-america-frequency-bands Frequency bands in US].

Channels have other control attributes, such as whether to share exact position with other nodes in that channel.

==== Default Channel ====

Each mesh has a default Channel configuration that is the camel cased name of the preset and the encryption key of AQ==. This generates a Frequency Slot. Different presets generate different default Frequency Slots. LongFast / AQ== indicates Slot 20; MediumSlow / AQ== indicates Slot 52. (Note that in the iOS app the default channel name is just left blank and the firmware in the node fills in the channel name.)

If NOT using a preset and the Channel 0 name is blank, then the firmware will use the word “Custom” to determine the frequency slot.

==== Primary Channel ====

Typically the Primary Channel uses the default Channel name and key.

Node telemetry data is sent over the Primary Channel - such as periodic Node Info messages. Automatic broadcasts, such as periodic Node Info messages, are always sent over the Primary Channel.

Some owners prefer to change the Primary Channel for their node. They do this by changing the name or encryption key (preferably both). In this way only nodes who have a channel with the same name and encryption key can read messages sent by this node. Thus, telemetry messages like Node Info sent over the Primary Channel are not readable by all other mesh participants. However, when they change the Primary Channel name their node is likely to pick a different Frequency Slot. If an owner wants to participate in their local public mesh, then when changing the name of the Primary Channel, they should purposely set the Frequency Slot for the preset they are using (see Default Channel above).

However, when node X sees a message from node W in a channel they both have configured, it may issue a Node Info request to node W in the same channel and node W might respond with Node Info in that channel. Of course, node X and W must share a Channel for this to happen. A node will not request a Node Info exchange if the node is just resending a message is cannot decrypt.

Questions:
# Is there a configuration to stop these node info responses on the Primary Channel?
# In this configuration, if the node issues a position request to another node does it go out on the Primary Channel? If so, then unless the other node also has the same channel name/key it will not respond, right?
# If a node does not have any channel configured with the default channel, then messages from all the "normal" nodes on the network will be encrypted and its nodedb will never get Node Info messages.

==== Secondary Channels ====

A node may have several other channels called Secondary Channels. Each Secondary Channel has a name and encryption key. These channels all use the same radio Frequency Slot determined by the settings of the Primary Channel for the node.

Messages in these Secondary Channels can only be read by other nodes that have a channel with the same name and encryption key. Thus, a Secondary Channel is a way for a group of nodes to communicate with each other in private, while still using the mesh to transport their messages.

Suppose a node changes its Primary Channel to some other name/key. Another node uses the same name/key pair for a Secondary Channel. The two nodes can still communicate as long as they have compatible radio settings.

Question:
# So, when a node receives a message does it try to decrypt the message with all the channel keys in its configuration?

==== Deleting a Channel ====

To delete a channel, open the channel config and set the channel to Disabled.

==== MQTT ====

Channels have the option for MQTT Uplink and MQTT Downlink. Uplink means you upload the packets you hear to an MQTT server, useful to show up on the internet map, or gather statistics. Downlink means you receive and then broadcast all packets from the MQTT server, this is mostly hot garbage. If you enable Downlink you might just saturate your local mesh - don't do it. In theory it's useful to bridge networks otherwise disconnected via LoRa limitations but in practice that not how it was used most of the time.

900Mhz lora is like < 1~10kbps and MQTT on WiFi could do 54Mbps. That means even extremely slow MQTT connections can saturate a LoRa mesh. Back in the day it wasn't uncommon to have someone enable MQTT downlink, then they would make LoRa unusable for everyone in their neighborhood since they would constantly hog the spectrum with random messages from MQTT.

Unless you know what you are doing, leave MQTT Downlink disabled.

=== Position Info ===

Note that position info is specified by the sending node and can be completely fabricated. A node can report itself at any lat/long it wants.

When positional information is automatically shared, it goes out on the Primary Channel (Channel 0). UPDATE 2025 August 7: Recently a firmware update was added so that if position is Disabled on Channel 0, your position will automatically be transmitted on the first secondary channel that has position enabled.

There are several ways to control how much positional information is shared. First, you can configure your node to not share position information, then nothing gets out. Second, if your device does not have its own GPS unit, then it gets the GPS position from your phone when you are connected. On an iPhone you can choose to share "precise location" or not. If you don't share precise location, then iOS takes care of fuzzing your location. Next, Meshtastic nodes have a position fuzzing function as well. You can choose to fuzz your location from 150 feet to 14 miles. Because Meshtastic position fuzzing just truncates lower order digits of the latitude/longitude the nodes using fuzzing will appear to lie on a grid when mapped.

Position sharing can also vary by Channel. You can choose to have the node not fuzz location on a particular channel. Of course, a node without GPS cannot report position any more accurately than what is provided by iOS; the errors build on each other.

The default primary channels (key of “AQ==“) can’t be set to have precise position enabled through the iOS app. This is because precise position is Personally Identifiable Info (PII) and Apple is very picky about that being shared. So the app doesn’t let you enable precise location on default channels to protect your privacy. You can enable precise location for default channels via the CLI.

If you set your node to use Fixed Location then when you save that choice the node gets a position update from your phone and uses that (subject to any fuzzing the phone does on location) but does not apply the Meshtastic fuzzing.

A node can send a position request to another node. If done through a phone app, then the request is sent on Channel 0. If the request is sent through the CLI, then it can be sent on a specific channel. If the receiving node does not have the channel configured, then it cannot decode the message and will not respond. A node might still not respond to a position request based on its settings.

[https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/radio/channels/#position-precision Position Precision documentation]

Questions
# Do nodes ever automatically request the position of another node?
# When a node receives a position request, does it always respond, based on configuration, or is there some minimum time between position responses, as there is with Node Info requests?

=== Node Information ===

==== NodeDB ====

Nodes each maintain a NodeDB. When you connect to a node with an app, the app will read the NodeDB and display information from it.

You can designate nodes as "favorite" and typically the app will put those nodes at the top of the displayed node list.

Nodes are added to the NodeDB when the node receives a NodeInfo message from a remote node.

The node's NodeDB holds 80 entries. They age out FIFO. A node that has been marked as a "favorite" will not age out of the NodeDB.

You can "reset NodeDB" to clear the NodeDB on the node. You might do this if you change meshes (choose a different pre-set) or if you change location and want to focus only on nodes in the new location. Resetting the NodeDB will wipe out favorites as well.

You can only Direct Message (DM) a node that is in your NodeDB. That's the only way your local node knows the public encryption key of the destination node. It is possible that the smart phone app displays nodes that have been aged out of your local node's NodeDB. If you DM a node that is not in the NodeDB on your local node, then the message is sent out on Channel 0.

==== Node Info ====

Node Info messages contain the node name, hardware type, location (if allowed), firmware version, etc.

Nodes will send out a Node Info message on Channel 0 based on the interval in Settings / Device / Node Info Broadcast Interval. It is recommended to set that to 3 hours or more in big meshes. On busy networks the node will send even less frequently than the configured interval. On a really small network (like 10 nodes in the NodeDB) a node might send more frequently. In general it can, and should, take hours to discover all nearby nodes. The firmware uses this algorithm

<pre>
ScaledInterval = Interval * (1.0 + ((NumberOfOnlineNodes - 40) * 0.075))
</pre>

NodeInfo messages are sent with the configured Message Hop Count Limit.

If a node receives a message on a Channel that it can read (decrypt) and it does not have the sending node in its NodeDB, then it will send a node info request to the sending node. A node will not respond to a Node Info request if it has broadcast a Node Info message within the last 5 minutes.

If you change your device name, other nodes will NOT immediately pick up the change; their own NodeDB will have the old information. Other nodes will update when they receive the next NodeInfo message from your node. If a remote node changes their private/public key (for example by a reinstall of the software without backing up the keys) then when you try to DM that node you will get an error - until your node's NodeDB gets an update from the remote node.

Consider that not every Node Info message will reach every node in the mesh. If you have been moving around with your node then many remote nodes may have old node info data for a long time.

Questions:
* Does the interval scaling only apply to telemetry? Or does it also apply to NodeInfo?

=== OK To MQTT ===

This value is set by the node that originates the message. If the message reaches a node that bridges the mesh to MQTT on the internet then only messages marked OK To MQTT should be passed on. In reality this is a request and an MQTT bridge node could ignore that flag if it wanted to.

Some areas (like the SF Bay Area) have some nodes that send traffic to a public logger using MQTT. In this particular case you can monitor the #_logger channel in their Discord server and see traffic there. This is an excellent way to see that your messages are making it into the mesh. It takes just a few seconds for your message to appear in the logger.

Note that if a gateway node (one that sends messages to MQTT) refuses to resend a message due to channel utilization, it also will not send the message to MQTT.

=== Traceroute ===

The [https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/module/traceroute/ official Traceroute docs]

The firmware will not do more than one traceroute every 30 seconds. This is to prevent congestion.

A node in a traceroute might be listed as "unknown" because it is not in the local node's NodeDB. Nodes that receive a Traceroute reply do not add all the nodes in the reply to their own NodeDB; that only happens when they receive a message from a particular node.

A node might be listed as "Repeater" (when it is not configured as a Router) because
# it does not have the channel name and key that were used for the channel that the traceroute was sent on.
# it is running firmware older than 2.5
In this case we only know there was a node involved because it decremented the hop count in the message.

Nodes will show up as FFFF in Traceroutes when they don't have the public channel set up. Or it might be a node configured for REPEATER.

If you see a node name but a ? for SNR, that is pre-2.5 firmware.

An example traceroute

<pre>
> Route: jschrempp makernexus.org --> jbs1 base San Carlos makernexus.org (8.75dB) --> Herkimer-O (-16.5dB) --> Herkimer-1!433d26b8 (8.5dB)
< Route Back: Herkimer-1!433d26b8 —-> Herkimer-O (8.25dB) --> jbs1 base San Carlos makernexus.org(-4.75dB) --> jschrempp makernexus.org (8.25dB)
</pre>

Traceroute messages are sent with the configured Message Hop Count Limit. This is also true of the response. For example, say the node sending the TR has a hop limit of 6 and it takes 5 hops to reach the destination. If the destination is configured with a hop limit of 3, the reply might not make it back.

If you don't get a traceroute reply, you can still get a lot of information about your situation by looking at the outbound flood on Meshview.
# Go to [https://meshview.bayme.sh/map SF Bay Area Meshview]
# Search for your node
# Filter for traceroutes (or just find one in the list of your node's traffic)
# Click on the "graph" link at the bottom of a traceroute message
# To see the position of the links click the little magnifying glass at the top of the TR you are looking at. Only nodes that report their position will be shown on the map. The number in each circle represents the hops away of that node.

=== Device Config ===

Questions:
# Under Display / Carousel Interval: in iOS app the value can be "off". What value does the correspond to in the web config app where the selector goes +/- ? Is it 0? -1?

== Rainbow Bridge ==

This is available in the San Francisco Bay Area (Baymesh). It allows your messages to get further reach.

Many nodes in Baymesh network will send messages they receive over the internet to an MQTT topic for Baymesh. Another way to access the bridge is to configure your node's MQTT module to be an "MQTT Client Proxy". In this case messages your node sends will be sent to the MQTT topic via your phone's internet connection. To set this up for the Bay Area mesh:

*In MQTT Config
*# Enabled
*# MQTT Client Proxy enabled
*# Connect to MQTT via Proxy enabled
*# root topic: msh/US/bayarea
*# address: mqtt.bayme.sh
*# username: meshdev
*# password: large4cats
* Channel Config
*# Set uplink in the Channel(s) you want to send on to MQTT

The Rainbow bridge subscribes to the Baymesh MQTT topic. If it receives a message from MQTT it queues that message and waits 10-15 seconds. If it does not receive the same message over the radio from the mesh, then the Rainbow bridge will send the message over the radio mesh.

The Rainbow bridge runs on a high peak in the Easy Bay named Sunol. Thus, if your message can make it to any of the MQTT bridges in the mesh (and there are many), it will eventually be resent by Sunol and get much wider distribution over the SF Bay Area.

A message might be sent to the MQTT topic by a number of different MQTT bridges. In the message that it resends, the Rainbow bridge will use the hop count of the first copy of the message it received over MQTT.

For your messages to be rebroadcast by the Rainbow Bridge several things must be true:

# Your node must have OK to MQTT enabled - so that your message will be sent by an MQTT bridge to the MQTT topic
# AND you must either
#* [https://mesh.oops.dev/allowlist Opt-in to have all your messages relayed] by the Rainbow bridge
#* On a message-by-message basis add the rainbow emoji 🌈 to the text of the message
#* "Tap back" to a message with a 🌈 or 💩 emoji within 5 minutes of the message being sent and that message will be rebroadcast by the Rainbow bridge (we use the poop emoji because there is no rainbow emoji in iOS).

== Node Communication ==

Depending on your hardware, you can communicate and control the node through a serial cable, Bluetooth, or over WiFi.

=== Bluetooth ===

The simplest way to configure and communicate through your node is with the smart phone Meshtastic app. You pair the node with your phone over Bluetooth and then can see data from the node. There are also Mac and Windows apps that work to some degree - I've found them a bit flakey.

While a node can be paired with several devices, it can only be connected to one at a time. If you connect to a node with your phone and then go to the laptop app you won't see the node there. You need to disconnect the phone from the node before you can see it in the laptop app - or with another phone.

If you get the message "you might have to forget this device" on your phone, then you do that, and eventually try to re-pair your node but the node does not display the Blue Tooth key ... Perhaps your node is currently connected to another device? Maybe you ran the Meshtastic client on your laptop and it automatically reconnected to your node and so now it isn't available to your phone? Not that this happened to me and took me 20 minutes of angst to figure out. Nope, not me. Asking for a friend.

Sometimes things have become pretty confused and we had to "forget" the node on our Bluetooth devices to get it all working again.

=== Serial ===

If you run the laptop app you can connect a serial cable to the node. This seems pretty stable. However, you MUST use a cable that supports data. A lot of cheap USB cables are power-only and this can be very frustrating. If it isn't working, check the cable.

=== WiFi ===

Some nodes support WiFi. Often when you enable WiFi it disables Bluetooth. WiFi REQUIRES an SSID on 2.4GHz that is NOT SHARED with a 5GHz network. For example, many home WiFi networks use the same SSID for 2.4 and 5 bands. The access point then "steers" devices to the correct band. This confuses the node and you'll have intermittent success. Find a way to have an SSID for just the 2.4GHz WiFi band and you'll see things work.

When on WiFi you can use a browser to connect to the node through [https://client.meshtastic.org/ the Meshtastic client]. I've found that works, but is confusing. If you get stuck, refresh the page and start again.

Another excellent choice is [https://affirmatech.com/meshsense MeshSense software]. This open source solution connects to nodes and gives you great insight into what's going on. It is not good for having text conversations, that is best done in the phone app.

=== Via the Mesh ===

Like one up on a pole. Administer it [https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/remote-admin/ over the mesh].

== Node Control Software ==

=== CLI ===

The command line interface is available in Python [https://meshtastic.org/docs/software/python/cli/ CLI]

The --configure command does not take all the configs from the exported file, however. This is an issue with restoring configs. Don't count on the restore to bring back your whole config.

You can request Telemetry from another node using the CLI. Telemetry includes items like battery level, temperature, and info about any sensors that are connected.

=== Apple iPhone App ===

==== DMs ====

DM Help is available if you go to Messages / Direct Messages and tap on the little question mark circled in the lower left of your display. This is a hidden gem!

In a DM, a little green lock means the specific node you messaged has acked you. Your message made it.

==== Errors on DM ====

Each node keeps a NodeDB with information on other nodes it has seen. This is displayed as a list and a map in the app. Nodes keep about 80 entries in their NodeDB, aging out older ones that are not marked as favorites. However, the iPhone app can hold information on more than 80 nodes. So, it is possible to see nodes on the map on your iPhone that are no longer in the device's NodeDB. If you try to DM one of these nodes you will get an error.

When you DM a node it is automatically favorited so that the keys don't roll out of the firmware's NodeDB.

A node can only be connected to one device at a time. When you disconnect from a node the info remains in the app for you to see. When you next connect to a "new" node with the app it will forget everything from the previous node and gather the node db from the current node.

In the node list ...

* The green lock icon represents the node having a public/private key. An amber unlock icon indicates one of two situations. 1) They are running a firmware version that predates the public key encryption for DMs. 2) They are running with HAM mode enabled.

==== the node map ====

* pulsing nodes are ones that have been seen "recently", whatever that means.

* a halo around a node indicates that the node is not sharing precise GPS location. The node is just "somewhere inside that halo".

* Nodes that do not share position information are not shown on the map.

* tap on a node circle on the map to bring up details about that node

The map displays nodes that have been seen by the connected node in the last 3 days. It is a arbitrary number based on the assumption that if it is not up for 3 days it must be dead.

==== Clear Stale Nodes ====

The app can be configured to "Clear Stale Nodes". Enabling this allows you to select a "purge after" days. Nodes are eligible to be automatically purged from the app's DB based on the last time they were heard. So if you select 7 days, it wont be until the node hasn't been heard for 7 days that it can be purged from the app. There are some caveats where a node won't be automatically purged from the app (it's a favorite, it's been "ignored", it is still in the node's DB). The routine to purge stale nodes runs periodically (every 60 minutes). So if you change the setting, it won't act on that setting until the next time the the routine runs.

==== Misc ====

Nodes running "older" versions of the firmware will incorrectly show up as "directly connected" in the node list because they cannot handle the hop start info in the messages. They still resend messages.

When you click to View Logs, it can take quite some time for the display to populate.

If you want to suppress notifications for messages on a channel, go to Messsages / Channels then long press on a channel name.

Note that you can not send a Telemetry request from the iOS app. You have to use the CLI.

The Range Test module has a default Sender Interval of 0. In the app this appears as the choice "Unset".

==== Unexpected Behavior ====

Not bugs, because this is how the team wants it to work.

* If you experiment with non-preset radio settings, the iOS app does not always communicate the changes in an effective way. One known limitation is that when running a custom setting the iOS app allows you to specify a Bandwidth of 250 kHz but the node receives a value of 0, and the firmware does not interpret that correctly.

* Power Setting - While the documentation says that 0 is recommended, if using an Apple app a 0 transmit power will be "no power". On a low power node you need to set it to 30dBm and the firmware will select the highest transmit power for the hardware. On a powerful node (like the Station G2) you need to select the appropriate transmit power to remain legal - see the section below about the Station G2.

==== Sept 2025 release ====

* icon at the top right shows when the app is sending or receiving from the connected node. Useful to know that the app has all the data when connecting to a new node.
* TCP support. If your node is on your IP network then it shows up as a possible client when you are not connected to any other node.
** If your node is on your network but doesn't show up, then it might be that your network does not pass mDNS (bonjour) messages. Try tapping the + icon and entering the IP address manually.
** Visit iOS permissions on devices and allow Meshtastic to connect to networks. iOS should prompt you to do this, but sometimes it does not. (and the option to allow this won't show up until the app actually tries to connect to an IP address)
* The BLE RSSI while connected and Advertising data during discovery are both being updated more often, you can better see your connection quality while connected now, and nodes don't linger in the available nodes if they are no longer in range anymore.

==== Questions ====

# iOS: iOS has a location setting called "only when using app". Assume this is set. I then run Meshtastic connected to my node. I then run a different app. I then lock my phone. I drive around with my node in my pocket. Does my node get new position updates from the phone? Does the iOS location setting "Always" change this behavior?

=== Apple MacOS App ===

There is an app that functions like the iOS app. Very good for running a node from a Mac.

=== Browser Based Control ===

There is a web GUI to a node. It used to be flashable to the node but that functionality was removed. Now you run the web site on a laptop/phone and it will control a local node. [https://client.meshtastic.org/ Web Client] or try [https://client-test.meshtastic.org/ the lastest test version].

You can also download the web GUI from GitHub and host it on your own system. It can be installed via a Docker container. If you need to then update that installation:

# Identify the container you want to update and the name of the image it's based on.
# Use the command '''docker stop <container_name>'''
# Remove the stopped container using '''docker rm <container_name>'''
# Download the latest version of the image using '''docker pull <image_name>'''
# Start a new container using the updated image. If you used '''docker run''' to create the original container, use the same command with the updated image. If you used '''docker-compose''', you can use '''docker-compose up -d''' to recreate the containers.
# Verify that the updated container is running as expected.
# If you no longer need the old image, you can remove it using '''docker rmi <image_name>'''

[https://meshmonitor.org/ Meshmonitor] is a new development to manage several nodes from one UI.

=== MeshSense App ===

This app can be used to monitor and control a node. [https://affirmatech.com/meshsense MeshSense] is open source ([https://github.com/Affirmatech/MeshSense GitHub]) and gives great insight into what your node is doing for the network.

It is recommended that you turn off "Automatically send Traceroute requests to active nodes when missing or when hops change" because it can result in a lot of mesh traffic. You find this through the gear icon in the upper right corner, then Settings. Note that if you do not turn this off, then MeshSense will send a LOT of traceroutes since it sends one whenever the hop count to a node changes.

Questions:
# Is there a way to set Favorite for a node?
# Can MeshSense change the configuration of a node or is it just read only?
# Is there a way to view a conversation in a Channel?
# Can we tell if a message has been acknowledged by another node?
# Is there any way to search the node list?

== Visualize the Mesh ==

Your node has a view of the mesh based on the nodes it has heard from. To get a bigger view of the mesh in your area, look for a local group that logs and plots nodes. For example, the Bay Area group has an [https://meshview.bayme.sh/map online map view] of the nodes. Note that you can filter this to show nodes on just one of the meshes in the Bay Area: long-fast, medium-slow, medium-fast.

=== Other options to view MQTT logged data ===

These are implementations of open source software. If you like what you see, then you could go to GitHub and get what you need to start one in your area.

*[https://meshview.bayme.sh/ Meshview Bay Area] BayMe.sh logger
*[https://meshview2.bayme.sh/ Meshview Bay Area Development branch]
*[https://meshyview.bayme.sh/ Meshyview, an alternative to Meshview]
*[https://mesh.stonekitty.net:8080/ BayMalla, a Malla implementation]
*[https://meshy.smerty.org/ Smerty] a different view of the BayMe.sh data
*[https://www.svme.sh/ Sacramento Valley]
*[https://mesh.stonekitty.net/ Meshview of all of California run by Nathan]

=== Meshview ===

This is the software used by many to visualize mesh traffic. It is written in Python. This [https://github.com/pablorevilla-meshtastic/meshview GitHub repo] has excellent instructions for installing the software on your own system. The software will monitor MQTT topics and deposit the data in a SQLite database: packets.db. If you want to explore the data yourself, there's nothing like having your own database on your own laptop.

Main Map Page
* Nodes are shown if they have a valid position in the database AND have been seen in the last 3 days.
* The color indicates the radio preset reported in NodeInfo. (MediumSlow, LongFast, etc)
* Routers have a slightly larger marker.
* A node will flash yellow four times when a new packet from that node is logged. (see note below)
* Click on a node and additional data is displayed
** Only data from the last 48 hours is displayed
** Traceroutes: blue dashed lines to any node that was listed next to this node on a traceroute - that is, the clicked node spoke directly to the other node when passing on a traceroute message. This data includes all traceroutes that were logged, not just ones that reached their destination. Note that you might see a solid blue line - ?? what does that mean ?? (Deduplicating the edge list did not eliminate edges)
** NeighborInfo: red solid lines, slightly thicker than a traceroute line, to each reported neighbor node. The clicked node does not have to have NeighborInfo enabled; it could have been reported as the neighbor of another node that does have NeighborInfo enabled.

NOTE: If you leave the map open updates happen about every 17 minutes. The map will stop updating if you switch to another tab in your browser or another application. When you return to the page it will update then. However, nodes logged for the first time are NOT added to the map unless you refresh the page.

== Logging Mesh Traffic with MQTT ==

In the Baymesh Discord is a channel #-logger-ms. If a message makes it to one of the MQTT bridge nodes, and the message has "ok to MQTT" set, then it will get added to a local logging database and appear in the #-logger-ms channel in just a few seconds.

In the logger channel, all of the links take you to a page within the mesh view website. You can browser around there and find all kinds of stats and things. For instance, go to your node page, find your trace route, study the graphs. To have something to study, you should run five traces to a node that is many hops away.

A node in the logger might show as a gateway. That means it has MQTT Uplink enabled and pointed to Baymesh topic:
topic: msh/US/bayarea server: mqtt.bayme.sh
[https://bayme.sh/docs/getting-started/mqtt/ Official Docs]

It can take 10 minutes for your message to appear in the Baymesh Discord logging channel.

The Baymesh Discord allows users to "claim" their nodes. When claimed, the Discord user name will appear with the node messages in the logging channels. To claim a node go to any channel and type /Linknode

You can create your own database of mesh traffic if you know the MQTT server and topic that your local area uses. [[Meshview]] gives more tips about this.

== Hardware ==

A good soul maintains [https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/F28QXD1VFWQ7 a list of Meshtastic parts on Amazon].

=== Antenna Notes ===

Are there downsides of having a 6 foot cable to my antenna? It really depends what kind of cable. Basic nodes transmit at 150mw which is often reduced to effectively 80mw after a 2 db loss from cables and connectors. At the low end every decibel is precious. It's often better to keep the cable to the antenna short, minimize connector count, and place the node with the antenna.

With a powerful node (Station G2 or the 1 watt Pi hats for example) then compensate with an extra dB on transmit.

Some web sites provide a line-of-sight analysis between any two points.

* [https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/ Gives a good line] between two sites
* [https://heywhatsthat.com Lets you view obstructions from one place]

=== Outdoor Nodes ===

Solar powered nodes in strategic placements can really improve and extend the mesh. Many people have built solar powered nodes to put up in trees or on mountain tops.

Some people have used the Harbor Breeze Solar Light to power a node. It's definitely the cheapest way to get into a solar node. You can make better ones but in CA where is is sunny all the time it's just fine. If you were in Washington it might not be sunny enough for this solution. [https://meshtastic.org/docs/community/enclosures/rak/harbor-breeze-solar-hack/ Harbor Breeze how to]

Here is a nice [https://groups.io/g/NEMARC/topic/meshtastic_tree_node/106358736 solar build step by step] and the [http://www.nemarc.org/mesh.html#treenodepartslist parts list].

This is an Instructable [https://www.instructables.com/Meshtastic-Solar-Buoy/ for a waterproof solar node].

This is a [https://www.seeedstudio.com/SenseCAP-Solar-Node-P1-for-Meshtastic-LoRa-p-6425.html pre built outdoor node 150mw] from Seeed Studio

And a nice, [https://store.rakwireless.com/products/wishmesh-meshtastic-solar-repeater-mini tight package] from Rak.

Or [https://www.seeedstudio.com/Wio-SX1262-with-XIAO-ESP32S3-p-5982.html cheapest node] we've seen.

A node [https://youtu.be/P2R9ad5PctY?si=xrEUC4DBMo35xGlb with a larger solar panel].

=== Heltec V3 ===

We have personally used the Heltec V3. It is small and simple to use. It transmits at 125mw. It offers both BLE and WiFi.

The Heltec V3 has a standby power draw of 110mA at 5v. Transmit is 262mA at 5v.

[https://docs.heltec.cn/en/node/esp32/wifi_lora_32/index.html Reference material].

It comes with a small whip antenna. When we upgraded with [https://a.co/d/hOPByNM this inexpensive antenna] our connectivity went way up. Another tip is to use a directional antenna to get your node onto the local mesh. If you know where other stable nodes are, then you can point your antenna in their direction. Directional antennas are easier to find and cheaper than buying a more powerful radio. For a stationary node you can tape a 10" x 10" sheet of aluminum foil to a piece of cardboard and place it about 3.1 inches behind your antenna to increase the directionality of the antenna. We had a 3dBm antenna and the aluminum element dramatically helped.

If your device does not have a battery, it has been reported that using USB-C cable for power can cause messages to fail to send. If you add a USB-C to USB-A adapter then delivery success goes up. Having the battery makes this a non-issue.

The "program" button will cycle the little display through the last 8 message screens.

A better antenna can be added. Basically all radios use a IPEX connector on the board, and then an antenna pigtail that changes the IPEX connector to a SMA Female. Then the actual antenna has a SMA Male connect.

Changing network connection: Suppose you have changed from Blue Tooth to WiFi and want to change back. You must first disable Wifi and reboot. THEN enable BTooth. The interface will let you turn on BT while WiFi is enabled, but that does not work.

Questions

# The display shows an arrow and a dot for the displayed node location. What does the config value "always point north" mean?

=== B&Q Station G2 ===

[https://shop.uniteng.com/product/meshtastic-mesh-device-station-edition/ The Station G2] is a big gun for a stationary node. It will transmit 1 watt of RF power (4 watts if you run in the "ham licensed" mode) which assures that someone will hear you. It costs $110, way more than other little nodes. You also need a [https://a.co/d/2DQsvhZ beefy power brick] to run it; 15 vdc at 20 watts.

The Station G2 has a resting power of 43mA at 15v. Transmit is 660mA at 15v.

The setting for LoRa Transmit Power defaults to 30dBm. That is the output of the LoRa chip. The G2 has an RF power amplifier and that pushes the actual transmit power to 4 watts. You should [https://wiki.uniteng.com/en/meshtastic/station-g2#lora-power-amplifier set the Transmit Power to 10dBm or less] in the US.
19dBm == 4.4 watt
10dBm == 1 watt
6dBm == 0.4 watt (still about 2.5 times more than the Heltec V3 and other smaller nodes)

The G2 has three LEDs on the side: Red, Green, Blue. All three should be on. If not, then your power supply is not strong enough for the G2 and you are not getting the full transmit power that you want.

According to some, the G2 has notoriously bad Wi-Fi reception.

When flashing firmware to a G2 we got "
error on web firmware flash to Station G2 esptool.js
Serial port WebSerial VendorID 0x303a ProductID 0x1001
Connecting...
NetworkError: Failed to execute 'open' on 'SerialPort': Failed to open serial port.

We had to use the CLI to flash the firmware. It wasn't hard to do. However, note that the test of '''esptool.py chip_id''' did not work but the firmware flash still did.

==== boot loop ====

It has been reported ... on a fresh install the firmware sets the TX power at 30 which is way too high for the built-in amplifier. If you're in a boot loop, try powering it from a regular USB 5v only charger, this disables the amplifier but keeps everything else running. You can then set the TX power to 10 and it should hopefully stop the boot loop.

=== RAK Wisblock ===

RAK Wisblock Core documentation says it draws 24.6mA at 3.6v for transmit. Standby draws 3.8mA. It offers BLE but not WiFi.

We deployed a [https://store.rokland.com/products/rakwireless-mini-meshtastic-starter-kit-us915-rak19003-4631-sku-115093 RAKwireless Mini Meshtastic Starter Kit] inside a Harbor Breeze solar light as described elsewhere. It did last overnight with just one day's charge of the battery.

In our experience this node has better quality transmit and receive than the Heltec V3. It is more expensive and has no display.

== Other Mesh Solutions ==

Another solution is Meshcore. It is more structured and requires planning while Meshtastic is meant to be self organizing. [https://www.perplexity.ai/search/compare-and-contrast-the-mesht-_B5nX1KzQmq0yPYpbBkzHw Comparison of Meshcore vs Meshtastic]

== A Typical Meshtastic Journey? ==

I've seen this played out several times; it is my story as well. If you're new to Meshtastic, this is what might happen to you.

# Buy a Heltec V3 because it is inexpensive and a good place to start.
# Wonder why your node sees nothing.
# Find a local Meshtastic group and realize that they are all using a different Preset. Change yours to theirs.
# See a lot of nodes, yea!
# Wonder why your messages are never acknowledged.
# Buy another Heltec V3 (or maybe 2 more since they are inexpensive).
# Discover that your nodes can talk to each other easily. Hmmm.
# Decide that funky little antenna on the Heltec might be the problem. But one or two different antennas.
# Also buy a case for the Heltec, it will keep it safe.
# Better antennas don't seem to help much.
# Put one of your nodes with what you think is the best antenna in a second story window pointing towards a big node you see in the node map. Now every once in a while a message will be acknowledged. Yea!
# Realize that moving your antenna just one foot to the side might improve message receipt. What?
# Buy a Station G2. It's expensive and not portable, but it will put out 1W of power; 8 times more than the Heltec.
# No difference. Huh?!?
# Realize that all three lights on the Station G2 are not lit up. Figure out what that means. Oh.
# Spend time figuring out what kind of power supply that Station G2 needs. Try a bunch at home, find that none work.
# Spend $15 on a beefy Anker power supply that will put out 15v. ([https://a.co/d/2DQsvhZ link, you're welcome])
# Bingo! Every message is acknowledged!!
# Realize that setting 30dB transmit power in the phone app translates to 3 watts of RF power in the G2. Ooops. Change it down to 10dB in the app, which gives you 1 watt of RF power in the G2. Now every message is still acknowledged.
# Well, almost every message.
# The story continues ... But now it's like you are really part of the mesh.

Meshtastic

2026-05-15T18:23:06Z

Jschrempp: /* Low Level Details */

== Overview ==

Meshtastic is an open source, low bandwidth mesh network that runs on 933MHz in the U.S. It runs on LoRa radio technology which is very low power, line of sight. Nodes can broadcast for miles if you are high on a hill. In an urban, flat area you might get 0.25 miles. But the power of the mesh is that if just one node can hear your message, then it can be relayed on to others.

Some people use these nodes when they are out camping in the wilderness without any cell phone service. The nodes automatically repeat messages and share their GPS location. It's a great way for a team to stay in touch.

Of course if you are the only person in your area running a Meshtastic node, then you won't have anyone to chat with. If you want to join a local mesh then you should web search for a group of enthusiasts in your area. Often an area will use radio settings that are different from the defaults, so you need to know what they are. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area there is an active group named [https://bayme.sh Bay Mesh]. They use Discord to help people grow the mesh.

You can buy a node for as little as $25. The node pairs with your phone over Bluetooth and you control it via the Meshtastic app. Once you have your node running you can send text messages to other nodes, or send a message to the "general" channel. Channels are encrypted but the General channel has a default encryption key of AQ== so everyone can read those messages.

You can read up on this fascinating technology at the [https://meshtastic.org/docs/introduction/ Meshtastic web site].

Check out their [https://meshtastic.org/docs/terms/ glossary of terms] and their [https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/tips/ configuration tips].

The first Meshtastic node was probably Kevin Hester, one of the guys who kicked off the whole thing. It got going sometime around 2018 or 2019. Not sure what the first LongName, ShortName, or Hex ID was. Here's an [https://www.qrz.com/articles/node_1718399850 article on the history of Meshtastic]

== Why this page? ==

While the documentation is good, it feels like a lot is left unsaid. This page holds tips, tricks, and just bits of knowledge that we have come across in bringing up our own nodes into the BayMesh. If you read something here that you know is in the docs, please comment or email and we'll replace whatever we have here with a link to the official docs. OR, if you read something here that you think is wrong or off base, please post to the #docs channel on [https://discord.com/invite/ktMAKGBnBs Discord].

Hopefully we'll get this knowledge into the official docs, but that can take a while. In the meantime, this page can be updated on the spur of the moment.

AND, if the reader feels like it, please take information from this page and add it to the official docs.

== Low Level Details ==

Low level, but still crucial to get right.

=== Radio Things ===

Read our [[Mesh_Networks|Tips on Radio hardware]]

=== Protocol Details ===

Best to read [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/mesh-algo/ the official docs]

=== LoRa Details ===

Meshtastic runs over LoRa. LoRa is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirp_spread_spectrum spread spectrum technology]. Read [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/ Meshtastic overview] for a good start.

LoRa spread spectrum technology is very good in noisy environments. The radio can reliably receive data at -14dB or better.

The LoRa Physical Header contains a sync word, which is a unique identifier that allows different LoRa networks to distinguish themselves. For Meshtastic, this sync word is set to 0x2B. This allows Meshtastic radios to recognize and process packets that are intended for their network and filter out other LoRa traffic that might be on the same frequency.

For those familiar with LoRa you might wonder what settings are used. Meshtastic allows any of the LoRa parameters, but also supplies a number of "presets". This is important because radios must use the same LoRa settings (e.g. network id, bandwidth, spreading factor, frequency slot) to be able to communicate. For example, if some nodes use a spreading factor of 7 and others use 9, they will not communicate; you will have two meshes. There are a few exceptions.

Coding Rate does not affect the ability to communicate between nodes. A node in a noisy environment could choose to use a lower coding rate and still participate in the network. The lower coding rate would only affect communication to the first hop. Lower coding rate will make the messages take more air time, thus increasing congestion.

The actual center radio frequency used is configured using the Frequency Slot. Nodes using different Slots cannot communicate with each other. Different regions have a different number of Slots available. The number of slots also depends on the LoRa Bandwidth setting. [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/radio-settings/#north-america-frequency-bands More info] Note that Medium Slow uses Slot 52; Medium Fast, 45; Long Fast, 20. Use the [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/radio-settings/#frequency-slot-calculator frequency calculator] to discover the actual center frequency.

On iOS, if you set the Slot to 0, then the firmware will pick a Slot based on the name of your Primary Channel. Your Primary Channel name should either be blank, or match the camel case name of the preset you use. For example, if you set Frequency Slot to 0 when using the Medium Slow preset, your Primary Channel name should be MediumSlow or blank. If not, you will not be on the same Frequency Slot as the general population of nodes using Medium Slow preset.

By choosing LoRa settings and/or frequency slot that does not match one of the presets you will create your own independent mesh. But where's the fun in that?

==== Long Fast? Medium Slow? Something Else? ====

Presets make it easy for different people to configure their nodes into the same mesh. As said above, if the user configures these settings by hand, they have to get all of them exactly the same.

The Presets were created to offer a balance of distance and speed but to be more biased towards distance rather than speed. Long Fast is actually pretty slow, but gives long distance.

In areas where the mesh is more dense we can tip the balance towards speed rather than distance. Even though it is called "Medium Slow", this Preset is still faster than Long Fast at the expense of a little bit of distance.

([https://k2xap.radio/mesh/lora-shapes LoRa shapes] is an interesting dive into this.)

Speed is important in a busy mesh. The slower the transmission, the longer each message takes. And if two nodes transmit at the same time then no nodes will be able to understand the message. Faster speed means less air time for each message and lower overall utilization of the mesh air waves - less congestion.

Many other meshes are starting to bias even further towards speed by using Medium Fast, Short Fast, etc. You can [https://meshtastic.org/blog/why-your-mesh-should-switch-from-longfast/ read the article on it].

== The Mesh ==

=== Time Windows ===
With all the nodes rebroadcasting messages you might think the mesh would collapse from congestion; Meshtastic uses some clever algorithms to prevent this.

First, there are three different time windows that a node might broadcast in: Early, Default, Late.
# The Early window is used by Routers and Repeaters - nodes in strategic positions. When these nodes rebroadcast a message a lot of other nodes will hear them and decide not to rebroadcast the message.
# The Default window is used by Client and other variations of Client. This is the main rebroadcast window that nodes use. Below we will describe how nodes decide when to rebroadcast a message.
# The Late window starts after the Default window. It starts after the end of the longest client resend wait window (a second or two). This gives Client nodes a chance to mesh messages before the ROUTER_LATE resend would shut them down. It is used by ROUTER_LATE to rebroadcast a message without disturbing the normal mesh that is being handled by other node types.

=== Managed Flood Routing ===

* When a message is received a node does not immediately resend it. It puts the message in a queue to resend. The queue can hold 30 messages of all types. If the queue is full, then older messages are dropped; this should only happen in the case of high network congestion.
* Nodes keep a list of the messages they have recently received. When a node is ready to resend a message it checks if the message is already on that list; if so then the node does not resend it.
* A node that receives a message notes the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the transmission. A node waits some time before resending the message. The stronger the signal it received, the longer it waits before resending. The idea here is that a high SNR means the sending node is nearby; a low SNR means the sending node is far away. With this algorithm nodes that are furthest from the sender (theoretically) will resend the message first thus pushing the message further away from the sending node. Nodes between the sender and the rebroadcaster will see the resend and that will stop them from resending the message. The range is between 0 and 16 multiples of the slot time.
* Each node monitors the radio utilization. If the utilization is "too high" it waits for the utilization to drop below a certain value.
* When a node is ready to send a message it monitors the radio and waits for a time when the air waves are clear (Channel Activity Detection or CAD). The amount of time needed for this process is called a "slot time".

=== About Device Roles ===

An interesting blog post about [https://meshtastic.org/blog/choosing-the-right-device-role/ choosing the right device role]. And one specifically about [https://meshtastic.org/blog/demystifying-router-late/ ROUTER_LATE]. Both are good reads.

* 2.7.10 introduced a new role CLIENT_BASE. It acts as ROUTER for messages that are to/from a Favorite node. Otherwise acts as CLIENT. This role is useful for a rooftop node that acts as the connection for your other nodes. For instance, your house has a handful of lower power nodes that have trouble being heard by the mesh. You set them to CLIENT_MUTE and put one node on your roof in the CLIENT_BASE role. That high up node will make sure your other nodes can send and receive to the larger mesh.

* A ROUTER node resends quickly in the Early window and it always sends every message it gets. The assumption is that only nodes in key mesh positions will be set to ROUTER. When the ROUTER node sends a message many clients waiting to resend the message will hear the ROUTER's resend and then not resend the message themselves. If everyone runs as ROUTER then every node would be sending every message, "managed flood routing" goes away, and the mesh will collapse from over utilization.

* A ROUTER_LATE node will first act as a normal Client and work the managed flooding algorithm during the default window. However, if it loses the race and sees another node rebroadcast during the Default window, then it will still resend the message in the Late window. This is intended for the case of a directional antenna that is specifically pointed to link to another far away area. Think of this as "try to be normal but if someone shuts you down, then wait until the other mesh nodes are done, and speak anyway".

== Messages ==

When a node wants to send a message, it waits for a clear time on the radio. See [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/mesh-algo/#carrier-sense-multiple-access-with-collision-avoidance-csmaca the doc]. A node will buffer up to 30 messages waiting for a clear time or while waiting for the send timer on any particular message. At 25% utilization, telemetry and other low value messages will start getting dropped.

When a message is sent, remote nodes in the same mesh may receive it and decide to resend it.

A broadcast message is one sent with no recipient. For example, automated Node Info and telemetry "broadcasts". Any message sent on one of the Channels (see below) is considered a broadcast message because it does not have a recipient. If the sending node hears its message rebroadcast by another node, then the message is marked "acknowledged".

Messages that are not acknowledged will be resent up to two more times. Typically within a few seconds.

A direct message (DM) is one sent with a designated recipient node. Nodes are designated using their hex id. For example, !432e1cd4 When the sending node hears its message rebroadcast by another node, the status becomes "acknowledged by another node". When the message reaches the designated recipient node, that remote node will reply with an ACK message. If that message makes it back to the sending node, then the message status is "acknowledged" and a green lock icon appears on the message (iOS).

Note that a mesh is dynamic. A message might make it to another node and be rebroadcast, yet the originating node does not hear the rebroadcast for some reason, so it sends the message again. If this happens 3 times the status will be "Max Retries Reached", even though the message made it to the mesh. Or the ACK from a recipient might be lost on the way back to the sender. These things can be more common in a mesh that is experiencing congestion. So your local node might think a message was not acknowledged even though the message was received by the mesh and the designated recipient.

The longer the message, the more likely it is to fail. Reason being, these devices have relatively slow data transfer rates. The signal has to be strong enough at the receiving end for the entire message. Shorter messages are less likely to be 'broken' by having bits lost in transmission.

Each message is sent to a "port" with port numbers being:
* 1: "Text"
* 67: "Telemetry"
* 3: "Position"
* 70: "Traceroute"
* 4: "Node Info"
* 71: "Neighbour Info"
* 73: "Map Report"

=== Encrypted Send Failed ===

A node sending a DM to a remote node may get the "Encrypted Send Failed" message. This happens when the sending node has a public key that does not match the key of the recipient node. These keys are kept in the NodeDB and advertised by periodic Node Info messages. A node might have a bad key for a remote client that has changed its public key, perhaps through a full reinstall of the firmware. To correct this, the sending node should delete the remote node from its NodeDB and wait for the entry to be added again. Having the remote node send a message on the Primary Channel that the local node sees can facilitate this.

=== No Channel ===

Similar to the Encrypted Send Failed error, this can happen when the recipient node has aged out of the device NodeDB after the phone app has already pulled the NodeDB. Thus the phone app has a node in it that is not present in the device NodeDB. Fix this by exiting the phone app and reconnecting to the device.

Note, however, that if the recipient node is no longer in the device NodeDB, then you will not see it in your node list after restarting the app - that node is gone. To prevent this, you should mark nodes as "favorite". Nodes that are marked as Favorite are not aged out of the device NodeDB.

(In a future version of the apps, any node that you DM will automatically be marked as a Favorite.)

== Configuration Notes ==

The default is "Client". In this mode your node will participate in the mesh by retransmitting messages it receives. (This is a simplification, read the Meshtastic web site for more details.) However, this can clog up the mesh. Unless you are building your own network in some remote wilderness, your nodes should always be configured as "Client Mute", or "Client Hidden". NEVER configure as "Repeater" or "Router" until you know your local mesh needs that.

One exception - Suppose you have several devices in your home / building. In this case you could have one node put up high, maybe in the attic or on the roof, set to "Client" while all your other nodes are "Client Mute". This way your mute node messages will get picked up by your roof top node and it will send them on to further nodes.

=== Channels ===

The Meshtastic documentation uses the term "Channel" when discussing radio (modem) presets. This is confusing. I discourage the use of Channel when talking about radio presets.

A Channel in Meshtastic is a communication mesh on top of the radio mesh. Each channel has a name and an encryption key. When a node receives a message it will try to decrypt it. The clear text message header has a hint in it (a one byte hash of the channel name) so the receiving node can guess which encryption key in its configuration to try - it does not have to try them all. If a node has the correct decryption key for the message, then it can read the contents.

While nodes in the mesh will rebroadcast channel messages, only nodes that know the channel name and encryption key can read the messages sent on that channel. If a node can read a message is it considered to be on a "local" mesh; other messages are considered on a "foreign" mesh.

Nodes can be set to only rebroadcast messages that are on their "local" mesh.

When a node receives a message that it can decrypt, it adds the originating node to its NodeDB and traffic from or to that node is considered "local". Note that setting a node to rebroadcast only "local" mesh traffic does not clear out the NodeDB. So it is possible that after setting a node to rebroadcast only "local" mesh traffic, it will continue to send messages that it is unable to decrypt. This will continue until the nodes addressed in the messages are aged out of the NodeDB. So, if you want to immediately stop forwarding "foreign" mesh traffic you should set local-only and clear your NodeDB. < Could use some double checking on this point. >

Each node has one Primary Channel, Channel 0. The name of the Primary Channel is used to determine the Frequency Slot that the node radio uses. Only nodes that use the same Frequency Slot can participate in a mesh. The user can also manually set the Frequency Slot, then the name of the Primary Channel is irrelevant. [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/radio-settings/#north-america-frequency-bands Frequency bands in US].

Channels have other control attributes, such as whether to share exact position with other nodes in that channel.

==== Default Channel ====

Each mesh has a default Channel configuration that is the camel cased name of the preset and the encryption key of AQ==. This generates a Frequency Slot. Different presets generate different default Frequency Slots. LongFast / AQ== indicates Slot 20; MediumSlow / AQ== indicates Slot 52. (Note that in the iOS app the default channel name is just left blank and the firmware in the node fills in the channel name.)

If NOT using a preset and the Channel 0 name is blank, then the firmware will use the word “Custom” to determine the frequency slot.

==== Primary Channel ====

Typically the Primary Channel uses the default Channel name and key.

Node telemetry data is sent over the Primary Channel - such as periodic Node Info messages. Automatic broadcasts, such as periodic Node Info messages, are always sent over the Primary Channel.

Some owners prefer to change the Primary Channel for their node. They do this by changing the name or encryption key (preferably both). In this way only nodes who have a channel with the same name and encryption key can read messages sent by this node. Thus, telemetry messages like Node Info sent over the Primary Channel are not readable by all other mesh participants. However, when they change the Primary Channel name their node is likely to pick a different Frequency Slot. If an owner wants to participate in their local public mesh, then when changing the name of the Primary Channel, they should purposely set the Frequency Slot for the preset they are using (see Default Channel above).

However, when node X sees a message from node W in a channel they both have configured, it may issue a Node Info request to node W in the same channel and node W might respond with Node Info in that channel. Of course, node X and W must share a Channel for this to happen. A node will not request a Node Info exchange if the node is just resending a message is cannot decrypt.

Questions:
# Is there a configuration to stop these node info responses on the Primary Channel?
# In this configuration, if the node issues a position request to another node does it go out on the Primary Channel? If so, then unless the other node also has the same channel name/key it will not respond, right?
# If a node does not have any channel configured with the default channel, then messages from all the "normal" nodes on the network will be encrypted and its nodedb will never get Node Info messages.

==== Secondary Channels ====

A node may have several other channels called Secondary Channels. Each Secondary Channel has a name and encryption key. These channels all use the same radio Frequency Slot determined by the settings of the Primary Channel for the node.

Messages in these Secondary Channels can only be read by other nodes that have a channel with the same name and encryption key. Thus, a Secondary Channel is a way for a group of nodes to communicate with each other in private, while still using the mesh to transport their messages.

Suppose a node changes its Primary Channel to some other name/key. Another node uses the same name/key pair for a Secondary Channel. The two nodes can still communicate as long as they have compatible radio settings.

Question:
# So, when a node receives a message does it try to decrypt the message with all the channel keys in its configuration?

==== Deleting a Channel ====

To delete a channel, open the channel config and set the channel to Disabled.

==== MQTT ====

Channels have the option for MQTT Uplink and MQTT Downlink. Uplink means you upload the packets you hear to an MQTT server, useful to show up on the internet map, or gather statistics. Downlink means you receive and then broadcast all packets from the MQTT server, this is mostly hot garbage. If you enable Downlink you might just saturate your local mesh - don't do it. In theory it's useful to bridge networks otherwise disconnected via LoRa limitations but in practice that not how it was used most of the time.

900Mhz lora is like < 1~10kbps and MQTT on WiFi could do 54Mbps. That means even extremely slow MQTT connections can saturate a LoRa mesh. Back in the day it wasn't uncommon to have someone enable MQTT downlink, then they would make LoRa unusable for everyone in their neighborhood since they would constantly hog the spectrum with random messages from MQTT.

Unless you know what you are doing, leave MQTT Downlink disabled.

=== Position Info ===

Note that position info is specified by the sending node and can be completely fabricated. A node can report itself at any lat/long it wants.

When positional information is automatically shared, it goes out on the Primary Channel (Channel 0). UPDATE 2025 August 7: Recently a firmware update was added so that if position is Disabled on Channel 0, your position will automatically be transmitted on the first secondary channel that has position enabled.

There are several ways to control how much positional information is shared. First, you can configure your node to not share position information, then nothing gets out. Second, if your device does not have its own GPS unit, then it gets the GPS position from your phone when you are connected. On an iPhone you can choose to share "precise location" or not. If you don't share precise location, then iOS takes care of fuzzing your location. Next, Meshtastic nodes have a position fuzzing function as well. You can choose to fuzz your location from 150 feet to 14 miles. Because Meshtastic position fuzzing just truncates lower order digits of the latitude/longitude the nodes using fuzzing will appear to lie on a grid when mapped.

Position sharing can also vary by Channel. You can choose to have the node not fuzz location on a particular channel. Of course, a node without GPS cannot report position any more accurately than what is provided by iOS; the errors build on each other.

The default primary channels (key of “AQ==“) can’t be set to have precise position enabled through the iOS app. This is because precise position is Personally Identifiable Info (PII) and Apple is very picky about that being shared. So the app doesn’t let you enable precise location on default channels to protect your privacy. You can enable precise location for default channels via the CLI.

If you set your node to use Fixed Location then when you save that choice the node gets a position update from your phone and uses that (subject to any fuzzing the phone does on location) but does not apply the Meshtastic fuzzing.

A node can send a position request to another node. If done through a phone app, then the request is sent on Channel 0. If the request is sent through the CLI, then it can be sent on a specific channel. If the receiving node does not have the channel configured, then it cannot decode the message and will not respond. A node might still not respond to a position request based on its settings.

[https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/radio/channels/#position-precision Position Precision documentation]

Questions
# Do nodes ever automatically request the position of another node?
# When a node receives a position request, does it always respond, based on configuration, or is there some minimum time between position responses, as there is with Node Info requests?

=== Node Information ===

==== NodeDB ====

Nodes each maintain a NodeDB. When you connect to a node with an app, the app will read the NodeDB and display information from it.

You can designate nodes as "favorite" and typically the app will put those nodes at the top of the displayed node list.

Nodes are added to the NodeDB when the node receives a NodeInfo message from a remote node.

The node's NodeDB holds 80 entries. They age out FIFO. A node that has been marked as a "favorite" will not age out of the NodeDB.

You can "reset NodeDB" to clear the NodeDB on the node. You might do this if you change meshes (choose a different pre-set) or if you change location and want to focus only on nodes in the new location. Resetting the NodeDB will wipe out favorites as well.

You can only Direct Message (DM) a node that is in your NodeDB. That's the only way your local node knows the public encryption key of the destination node. It is possible that the smart phone app displays nodes that have been aged out of your local node's NodeDB. If you DM a node that is not in the NodeDB on your local node, then the message is sent out on Channel 0.

==== Node Info ====

Node Info messages contain the node name, hardware type, location (if allowed), firmware version, etc.

Nodes will send out a Node Info message on Channel 0 based on the interval in Settings / Device / Node Info Broadcast Interval. It is recommended to set that to 3 hours or more in big meshes. On busy networks the node will send even less frequently than the configured interval. On a really small network (like 10 nodes in the NodeDB) a node might send more frequently. In general it can, and should, take hours to discover all nearby nodes. The firmware uses this algorithm

<pre>
ScaledInterval = Interval * (1.0 + ((NumberOfOnlineNodes - 40) * 0.075))
</pre>

NodeInfo messages are sent with the configured Message Hop Count Limit.

If a node receives a message on a Channel that it can read (decrypt) and it does not have the sending node in its NodeDB, then it will send a node info request to the sending node. A node will not respond to a Node Info request if it has broadcast a Node Info message within the last 5 minutes.

If you change your device name, other nodes will NOT immediately pick up the change; their own NodeDB will have the old information. Other nodes will update when they receive the next NodeInfo message from your node. If a remote node changes their private/public key (for example by a reinstall of the software without backing up the keys) then when you try to DM that node you will get an error - until your node's NodeDB gets an update from the remote node.

Consider that not every Node Info message will reach every node in the mesh. If you have been moving around with your node then many remote nodes may have old node info data for a long time.

Questions:
* Does the interval scaling only apply to telemetry? Or does it also apply to NodeInfo?

=== OK To MQTT ===

This value is set by the node that originates the message. If the message reaches a node that bridges the mesh to MQTT on the internet then only messages marked OK To MQTT should be passed on. In reality this is a request and an MQTT bridge node could ignore that flag if it wanted to.

Some areas (like the SF Bay Area) have some nodes that send traffic to a public logger using MQTT. In this particular case you can monitor the #_logger channel in their Discord server and see traffic there. This is an excellent way to see that your messages are making it into the mesh. It takes just a few seconds for your message to appear in the logger.

Note that if a gateway node (one that sends messages to MQTT) refuses to resend a message due to channel utilization, it also will not send the message to MQTT.

=== Traceroute ===

The [https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/module/traceroute/ official Traceroute docs]

The firmware will not do more than one traceroute every 30 seconds. This is to prevent congestion.

A node in a traceroute might be listed as "unknown" because it is not in the local node's NodeDB. Nodes that receive a Traceroute reply do not add all the nodes in the reply to their own NodeDB; that only happens when they receive a message from a particular node.

A node might be listed as "Repeater" (when it is not configured as a Router) because
# it does not have the channel name and key that were used for the channel that the traceroute was sent on.
# it is running firmware older than 2.5
In this case we only know there was a node involved because it decremented the hop count in the message.

Nodes will show up as FFFF in Traceroutes when they don't have the public channel set up. Or it might be a node configured for REPEATER.

If you see a node name but a ? for SNR, that is pre-2.5 firmware.

An example traceroute

<pre>
> Route: jschrempp makernexus.org --> jbs1 base San Carlos makernexus.org (8.75dB) --> Herkimer-O (-16.5dB) --> Herkimer-1!433d26b8 (8.5dB)
< Route Back: Herkimer-1!433d26b8 —-> Herkimer-O (8.25dB) --> jbs1 base San Carlos makernexus.org(-4.75dB) --> jschrempp makernexus.org (8.25dB)
</pre>

Traceroute messages are sent with the configured Message Hop Count Limit. This is also true of the response. For example, say the node sending the TR has a hop limit of 6 and it takes 5 hops to reach the destination. If the destination is configured with a hop limit of 3, the reply might not make it back.

If you don't get a traceroute reply, you can still get a lot of information about your situation by looking at the outbound flood on Meshview.
# Go to [https://meshview.bayme.sh/map SF Bay Area Meshview]
# Search for your node
# Filter for traceroutes (or just find one in the list of your node's traffic)
# Click on the "graph" link at the bottom of a traceroute message
# To see the position of the links click the little magnifying glass at the top of the TR you are looking at. Only nodes that report their position will be shown on the map. The number in each circle represents the hops away of that node.

=== Device Config ===

Questions:
# Under Display / Carousel Interval: in iOS app the value can be "off". What value does the correspond to in the web config app where the selector goes +/- ? Is it 0? -1?

== Rainbow Bridge ==

This is available in the San Francisco Bay Area (Baymesh). It allows your messages to get further reach.

Many nodes in Baymesh network will send messages they receive over the internet to an MQTT topic for Baymesh. Another way to access the bridge is to configure your node's MQTT module to be an "MQTT Client Proxy". In this case messages your node sends will be sent to the MQTT topic via your phone's internet connection. To set this up for the Bay Area mesh:

*In MQTT Config
*# Enabled
*# MQTT Client Proxy enabled
*# Connect to MQTT via Proxy enabled
*# root topic: msh/US/bayarea
*# address: mqtt.bayme.sh
*# username: meshdev
*# password: large4cats
* Channel Config
*# Set uplink in the Channel(s) you want to send on to MQTT

The Rainbow bridge subscribes to the Baymesh MQTT topic. If it receives a message from MQTT it queues that message and waits 10-15 seconds. If it does not receive the same message over the radio from the mesh, then the Rainbow bridge will send the message over the radio mesh.

The Rainbow bridge runs on a high peak in the Easy Bay named Sunol. Thus, if your message can make it to any of the MQTT bridges in the mesh (and there are many), it will eventually be resent by Sunol and get much wider distribution over the SF Bay Area.

A message might be sent to the MQTT topic by a number of different MQTT bridges. In the message that it resends, the Rainbow bridge will use the hop count of the first copy of the message it received over MQTT.

For your messages to be rebroadcast by the Rainbow Bridge several things must be true:

# Your node must have OK to MQTT enabled - so that your message will be sent by an MQTT bridge to the MQTT topic
# AND you must either
#* [https://mesh.oops.dev/allowlist Opt-in to have all your messages relayed] by the Rainbow bridge
#* On a message-by-message basis add the rainbow emoji 🌈 to the text of the message
#* "Tap back" to a message with a 🌈 or 💩 emoji within 5 minutes of the message being sent and that message will be rebroadcast by the Rainbow bridge (we use the poop emoji because there is no rainbow emoji in iOS).

== Node Communication ==

Depending on your hardware, you can communicate and control the node through a serial cable, Bluetooth, or over WiFi.

=== Bluetooth ===

The simplest way to configure and communicate through your node is with the smart phone Meshtastic app. You pair the node with your phone over Bluetooth and then can see data from the node. There are also Mac and Windows apps that work to some degree - I've found them a bit flakey.

While a node can be paired with several devices, it can only be connected to one at a time. If you connect to a node with your phone and then go to the laptop app you won't see the node there. You need to disconnect the phone from the node before you can see it in the laptop app - or with another phone.

If you get the message "you might have to forget this device" on your phone, then you do that, and eventually try to re-pair your node but the node does not display the Blue Tooth key ... Perhaps your node is currently connected to another device? Maybe you ran the Meshtastic client on your laptop and it automatically reconnected to your node and so now it isn't available to your phone? Not that this happened to me and took me 20 minutes of angst to figure out. Nope, not me. Asking for a friend.

Sometimes things have become pretty confused and we had to "forget" the node on our Bluetooth devices to get it all working again.

=== Serial ===

If you run the laptop app you can connect a serial cable to the node. This seems pretty stable. However, you MUST use a cable that supports data. A lot of cheap USB cables are power-only and this can be very frustrating. If it isn't working, check the cable.

=== WiFi ===

Some nodes support WiFi. Often when you enable WiFi it disables Bluetooth. WiFi REQUIRES an SSID on 2.4GHz that is NOT SHARED with a 5GHz network. For example, many home WiFi networks use the same SSID for 2.4 and 5 bands. The access point then "steers" devices to the correct band. This confuses the node and you'll have intermittent success. Find a way to have an SSID for just the 2.4GHz WiFi band and you'll see things work.

When on WiFi you can use a browser to connect to the node through [https://client.meshtastic.org/ the Meshtastic client]. I've found that works, but is confusing. If you get stuck, refresh the page and start again.

Another excellent choice is [https://affirmatech.com/meshsense MeshSense software]. This open source solution connects to nodes and gives you great insight into what's going on. It is not good for having text conversations, that is best done in the phone app.

=== Via the Mesh ===

Like one up on a pole. Administer it [https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/remote-admin/ over the mesh].

== Node Control Software ==

=== CLI ===

The command line interface is available in Python [https://meshtastic.org/docs/software/python/cli/ CLI]

The --configure command does not take all the configs from the exported file, however. This is an issue with restoring configs. Don't count on the restore to bring back your whole config.

You can request Telemetry from another node using the CLI. Telemetry includes items like battery level, temperature, and info about any sensors that are connected.

=== Apple iPhone App ===

==== DMs ====

DM Help is available if you go to Messages / Direct Messages and tap on the little question mark circled in the lower left of your display. This is a hidden gem!

In a DM, a little green lock means the specific node you messaged has acked you. Your message made it.

==== Errors on DM ====

Each node keeps a NodeDB with information on other nodes it has seen. This is displayed as a list and a map in the app. Nodes keep about 80 entries in their NodeDB, aging out older ones that are not marked as favorites. However, the iPhone app can hold information on more than 80 nodes. So, it is possible to see nodes on the map on your iPhone that are no longer in the device's NodeDB. If you try to DM one of these nodes you will get an error.

When you DM a node it is automatically favorited so that the keys don't roll out of the firmware's NodeDB.

A node can only be connected to one device at a time. When you disconnect from a node the info remains in the app for you to see. When you next connect to a "new" node with the app it will forget everything from the previous node and gather the node db from the current node.

In the node list ...

* The green lock icon represents the node having a public/private key. An amber unlock icon indicates one of two situations. 1) They are running a firmware version that predates the public key encryption for DMs. 2) They are running with HAM mode enabled.

==== the node map ====

* pulsing nodes are ones that have been seen "recently", whatever that means.

* a halo around a node indicates that the node is not sharing precise GPS location. The node is just "somewhere inside that halo".

* Nodes that do not share position information are not shown on the map.

* tap on a node circle on the map to bring up details about that node

The map displays nodes that have been seen by the connected node in the last 3 days. It is a arbitrary number based on the assumption that if it is not up for 3 days it must be dead.

==== Clear Stale Nodes ====

The app can be configured to "Clear Stale Nodes". Enabling this allows you to select a "purge after" days. Nodes are eligible to be automatically purged from the app's DB based on the last time they were heard. So if you select 7 days, it wont be until the node hasn't been heard for 7 days that it can be purged from the app. There are some caveats where a node won't be automatically purged from the app (it's a favorite, it's been "ignored", it is still in the node's DB). The routine to purge stale nodes runs periodically (every 60 minutes). So if you change the setting, it won't act on that setting until the next time the the routine runs.

==== Misc ====

Nodes running "older" versions of the firmware will incorrectly show up as "directly connected" in the node list because they cannot handle the hop start info in the messages. They still resend messages.

When you click to View Logs, it can take quite some time for the display to populate.

If you want to suppress notifications for messages on a channel, go to Messsages / Channels then long press on a channel name.

Note that you can not send a Telemetry request from the iOS app. You have to use the CLI.

The Range Test module has a default Sender Interval of 0. In the app this appears as the choice "Unset".

==== Unexpected Behavior ====

Not bugs, because this is how the team wants it to work.

* If you experiment with non-preset radio settings, the iOS app does not always communicate the changes in an effective way. One known limitation is that when running a custom setting the iOS app allows you to specify a Bandwidth of 250 kHz but the node receives a value of 0, and the firmware does not interpret that correctly.

* Power Setting - While the documentation says that 0 is recommended, if using an Apple app a 0 transmit power will be "no power". On a low power node you need to set it to 30dBm and the firmware will select the highest transmit power for the hardware. On a powerful node (like the Station G2) you need to select the appropriate transmit power to remain legal - see the section below about the Station G2.

==== Sept 2025 release ====

* icon at the top right shows when the app is sending or receiving from the connected node. Useful to know that the app has all the data when connecting to a new node.
* TCP support. If your node is on your IP network then it shows up as a possible client when you are not connected to any other node.
** If your node is on your network but doesn't show up, then it might be that your network does not pass mDNS (bonjour) messages. Try tapping the + icon and entering the IP address manually.
** Visit iOS permissions on devices and allow Meshtastic to connect to networks. iOS should prompt you to do this, but sometimes it does not. (and the option to allow this won't show up until the app actually tries to connect to an IP address)
* The BLE RSSI while connected and Advertising data during discovery are both being updated more often, you can better see your connection quality while connected now, and nodes don't linger in the available nodes if they are no longer in range anymore.

==== Questions ====

# iOS: iOS has a location setting called "only when using app". Assume this is set. I then run Meshtastic connected to my node. I then run a different app. I then lock my phone. I drive around with my node in my pocket. Does my node get new position updates from the phone? Does the iOS location setting "Always" change this behavior?

=== Apple MacOS App ===

There is an app that functions like the iOS app. Very good for running a node from a Mac.

=== Browser Based Control ===

There is a web GUI to a node. It used to be flashable to the node but that functionality was removed. Now you run the web site on a laptop/phone and it will control a local node. [https://client.meshtastic.org/ Web Client] or try [https://client-test.meshtastic.org/ the lastest test version].

You can also download the web GUI from GitHub and host it on your own system. It can be installed via a Docker container. If you need to then update that installation:

# Identify the container you want to update and the name of the image it's based on.
# Use the command '''docker stop <container_name>'''
# Remove the stopped container using '''docker rm <container_name>'''
# Download the latest version of the image using '''docker pull <image_name>'''
# Start a new container using the updated image. If you used '''docker run''' to create the original container, use the same command with the updated image. If you used '''docker-compose''', you can use '''docker-compose up -d''' to recreate the containers.
# Verify that the updated container is running as expected.
# If you no longer need the old image, you can remove it using '''docker rmi <image_name>'''

[https://meshmonitor.org/ Meshmonitor] is a new development to manage several nodes from one UI.

=== MeshSense App ===

This app can be used to monitor and control a node. [https://affirmatech.com/meshsense MeshSense] is open source ([https://github.com/Affirmatech/MeshSense GitHub]) and gives great insight into what your node is doing for the network.

It is recommended that you turn off "Automatically send Traceroute requests to active nodes when missing or when hops change" because it can result in a lot of mesh traffic. You find this through the gear icon in the upper right corner, then Settings. Note that if you do not turn this off, then MeshSense will send a LOT of traceroutes since it sends one whenever the hop count to a node changes.

Questions:
# Is there a way to set Favorite for a node?
# Can MeshSense change the configuration of a node or is it just read only?
# Is there a way to view a conversation in a Channel?
# Can we tell if a message has been acknowledged by another node?
# Is there any way to search the node list?

== Visualize the Mesh ==

Your node has a view of the mesh based on the nodes it has heard from. To get a bigger view of the mesh in your area, look for a local group that logs and plots nodes. For example, the Bay Area group has an [https://meshview.bayme.sh/map online map view] of the nodes. Note that you can filter this to show nodes on just one of the meshes in the Bay Area: long-fast, medium-slow, medium-fast.

=== Other options to view MQTT logged data ===

These are implementations of open source software. If you like what you see, then you could go to GitHub and get what you need to start one in your area.

*[https://meshview.bayme.sh/ Meshview Bay Area] BayMe.sh logger
*[https://meshview2.bayme.sh/ Meshview Bay Area Development branch]
*[https://meshyview.bayme.sh/ Meshyview, an alternative to Meshview]
*[https://mesh.stonekitty.net:8080/ BayMalla, a Malla implementation]
*[https://meshy.smerty.org/ Smerty] a different view of the BayMe.sh data
*[https://www.svme.sh/ Sacramento Valley]
*[https://mesh.stonekitty.net/ Meshview of all of California run by Nathan]

=== Meshview ===

This is the software used by many to visualize mesh traffic. It is written in Python. This [https://github.com/pablorevilla-meshtastic/meshview GitHub repo] has excellent instructions for installing the software on your own system. The software will monitor MQTT topics and deposit the data in a SQLite database: packets.db. If you want to explore the data yourself, there's nothing like having your own database on your own laptop.

Main Map Page
* Nodes are shown if they have a valid position in the database AND have been seen in the last 3 days.
* The color indicates the radio preset reported in NodeInfo. (MediumSlow, LongFast, etc)
* Routers have a slightly larger marker.
* A node will flash yellow four times when a new packet from that node is logged. (see note below)
* Click on a node and additional data is displayed
** Only data from the last 48 hours is displayed
** Traceroutes: blue dashed lines to any node that was listed next to this node on a traceroute - that is, the clicked node spoke directly to the other node when passing on a traceroute message. This data includes all traceroutes that were logged, not just ones that reached their destination. Note that you might see a solid blue line - ?? what does that mean ?? (Deduplicating the edge list did not eliminate edges)
** NeighborInfo: red solid lines, slightly thicker than a traceroute line, to each reported neighbor node. The clicked node does not have to have NeighborInfo enabled; it could have been reported as the neighbor of another node that does have NeighborInfo enabled.

NOTE: If you leave the map open updates happen about every 17 minutes. The map will stop updating if you switch to another tab in your browser or another application. When you return to the page it will update then. However, nodes logged for the first time are NOT added to the map unless you refresh the page.

== Logging Mesh Traffic with MQTT ==

In the Baymesh Discord is a channel #-logger-ms. If a message makes it to one of the MQTT bridge nodes, and the message has "ok to MQTT" set, then it will get added to a local logging database and appear in the #-logger-ms channel in just a few seconds.

In the logger channel, all of the links take you to a page within the mesh view website. You can browser around there and find all kinds of stats and things. For instance, go to your node page, find your trace route, study the graphs. To have something to study, you should run five traces to a node that is many hops away.

A node in the logger might show as a gateway. That means it has MQTT Uplink enabled and pointed to Baymesh topic:
topic: msh/US/bayarea server: mqtt.bayme.sh
[https://bayme.sh/docs/getting-started/mqtt/ Official Docs]

It can take 10 minutes for your message to appear in the Baymesh Discord logging channel.

The Baymesh Discord allows users to "claim" their nodes. When claimed, the Discord user name will appear with the node messages in the logging channels. To claim a node go to any channel and type /Linknode

You can create your own database of mesh traffic if you know the MQTT server and topic that your local area uses. [[Meshview]] gives more tips about this.

== Hardware ==

A good soul maintains [https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/F28QXD1VFWQ7 a list of Meshtastic parts on Amazon].

=== Antenna Notes ===

Are there downsides of having a 6 foot cable to my antenna? It really depends what kind of cable. Basic nodes transmit at 150mw which is often reduced to effectively 80mw after a 2 db loss from cables and connectors. At the low end every decibel is precious. It's often better to keep the cable to the antenna short, minimize connector count, and place the node with the antenna.

With a powerful node (Station G2 or the 1 watt Pi hats for example) then compensate with an extra dB on transmit.

Some web sites provide a line-of-sight analysis between any two points.

* [https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/ Gives a good line] between two sites
* [https://heywhatsthat.com Lets you view obstructions from one place]

=== Outdoor Nodes ===

Solar powered nodes in strategic placements can really improve and extend the mesh. Many people have built solar powered nodes to put up in trees or on mountain tops.

Some people have used the Harbor Breeze Solar Light to power a node. It's definitely the cheapest way to get into a solar node. You can make better ones but in CA where is is sunny all the time it's just fine. If you were in Washington it might not be sunny enough for this solution. [https://meshtastic.org/docs/community/enclosures/rak/harbor-breeze-solar-hack/ Harbor Breeze how to]

Here is a nice [https://groups.io/g/NEMARC/topic/meshtastic_tree_node/106358736 solar build step by step] and the [http://www.nemarc.org/mesh.html#treenodepartslist parts list].

This is an Instructable [https://www.instructables.com/Meshtastic-Solar-Buoy/ for a waterproof solar node].

This is a [https://www.seeedstudio.com/SenseCAP-Solar-Node-P1-for-Meshtastic-LoRa-p-6425.html pre built outdoor node 150mw] from Seeed Studio

And a nice, [https://store.rakwireless.com/products/wishmesh-meshtastic-solar-repeater-mini tight package] from Rak.

Or [https://www.seeedstudio.com/Wio-SX1262-with-XIAO-ESP32S3-p-5982.html cheapest node] we've seen.

A node [https://youtu.be/P2R9ad5PctY?si=xrEUC4DBMo35xGlb with a larger solar panel].

=== Heltec V3 ===

We have personally used the Heltec V3. It is small and simple to use. It transmits at 125mw. It offers both BLE and WiFi.

The Heltec V3 has a standby power draw of 110mA at 5v. Transmit is 262mA at 5v.

[https://docs.heltec.cn/en/node/esp32/wifi_lora_32/index.html Reference material].

It comes with a small whip antenna. When we upgraded with [https://a.co/d/hOPByNM this inexpensive antenna] our connectivity went way up. Another tip is to use a directional antenna to get your node onto the local mesh. If you know where other stable nodes are, then you can point your antenna in their direction. Directional antennas are easier to find and cheaper than buying a more powerful radio. For a stationary node you can tape a 10" x 10" sheet of aluminum foil to a piece of cardboard and place it about 3.1 inches behind your antenna to increase the directionality of the antenna. We had a 3dBm antenna and the aluminum element dramatically helped.

If your device does not have a battery, it has been reported that using USB-C cable for power can cause messages to fail to send. If you add a USB-C to USB-A adapter then delivery success goes up. Having the battery makes this a non-issue.

The "program" button will cycle the little display through the last 8 message screens.

A better antenna can be added. Basically all radios use a IPEX connector on the board, and then an antenna pigtail that changes the IPEX connector to a SMA Female. Then the actual antenna has a SMA Male connect.

Changing network connection: Suppose you have changed from Blue Tooth to WiFi and want to change back. You must first disable Wifi and reboot. THEN enable BTooth. The interface will let you turn on BT while WiFi is enabled, but that does not work.

Questions

# The display shows an arrow and a dot for the displayed node location. What does the config value "always point north" mean?

=== B&Q Station G2 ===

[https://shop.uniteng.com/product/meshtastic-mesh-device-station-edition/ The Station G2] is a big gun for a stationary node. It will transmit 1 watt of RF power (4 watts if you run in the "ham licensed" mode) which assures that someone will hear you. It costs $110, way more than other little nodes. You also need a [https://a.co/d/2DQsvhZ beefy power brick] to run it; 15 vdc at 20 watts.

The Station G2 has a resting power of 43mA at 15v. Transmit is 660mA at 15v.

The setting for LoRa Transmit Power defaults to 30dBm. That is the output of the LoRa chip. The G2 has an RF power amplifier and that pushes the actual transmit power to 4 watts. You should [https://wiki.uniteng.com/en/meshtastic/station-g2#lora-power-amplifier set the Transmit Power to 10dBm or less] in the US.
19dBm == 4.4 watt
10dBm == 1 watt
6dBm == 0.4 watt (still about 2.5 times more than the Heltec V3 and other smaller nodes)

The G2 has three LEDs on the side: Red, Green, Blue. All three should be on. If not, then your power supply is not strong enough for the G2 and you are not getting the full transmit power that you want.

According to some, the G2 has notoriously bad Wi-Fi reception.

When flashing firmware to a G2 we got "
error on web firmware flash to Station G2 esptool.js
Serial port WebSerial VendorID 0x303a ProductID 0x1001
Connecting...
NetworkError: Failed to execute 'open' on 'SerialPort': Failed to open serial port.

We had to use the CLI to flash the firmware. It wasn't hard to do. However, note that the test of '''esptool.py chip_id''' did not work but the firmware flash still did.

==== boot loop ====

It has been reported ... on a fresh install the firmware sets the TX power at 30 which is way too high for the built-in amplifier. If you're in a boot loop, try powering it from a regular USB 5v only charger, this disables the amplifier but keeps everything else running. You can then set the TX power to 10 and it should hopefully stop the boot loop.

=== RAK Wisblock ===

RAK Wisblock Core documentation says it draws 24.6mA at 3.6v for transmit. Standby draws 3.8mA. It offers BLE but not WiFi.

We deployed a [https://store.rokland.com/products/rakwireless-mini-meshtastic-starter-kit-us915-rak19003-4631-sku-115093 RAKwireless Mini Meshtastic Starter Kit] inside a Harbor Breeze solar light as described elsewhere. It did last overnight with just one day's charge of the battery.

In our experience this node has better quality transmit and receive than the Heltec V3. It is more expensive and has no display.

== Other Mesh Solutions ==

Another solution is Meshcore. It is more structured and requires planning while Meshtastic is meant to be self organizing. [https://www.perplexity.ai/search/compare-and-contrast-the-mesht-_B5nX1KzQmq0yPYpbBkzHw Comparison of Meshcore vs Meshtastic]

== A Typical Meshtastic Journey? ==

I've seen this played out several times; it is my story as well. If you're new to Meshtastic, this is what might happen to you.

# Buy a Heltec V3 because it is inexpensive and a good place to start.
# Wonder why your node sees nothing.
# Find a local Meshtastic group and realize that they are all using a different Preset. Change yours to theirs.
# See a lot of nodes, yea!
# Wonder why your messages are never acknowledged.
# Buy another Heltec V3 (or maybe 2 more since they are inexpensive).
# Discover that your nodes can talk to each other easily. Hmmm.
# Decide that funky little antenna on the Heltec might be the problem. But one or two different antennas.
# Also buy a case for the Heltec, it will keep it safe.
# Better antennas don't seem to help much.
# Put one of your nodes with what you think is the best antenna in a second story window pointing towards a big node you see in the node map. Now every once in a while a message will be acknowledged. Yea!
# Realize that moving your antenna just one foot to the side might improve message receipt. What?
# Buy a Station G2. It's expensive and not portable, but it will put out 1W of power; 8 times more than the Heltec.
# No difference. Huh?!?
# Realize that all three lights on the Station G2 are not lit up. Figure out what that means. Oh.
# Spend time figuring out what kind of power supply that Station G2 needs. Try a bunch at home, find that none work.
# Spend $15 on a beefy Anker power supply that will put out 15v. ([https://a.co/d/2DQsvhZ link, you're welcome])
# Bingo! Every message is acknowledged!!
# Realize that setting 30dB transmit power in the phone app translates to 3 watts of RF power in the G2. Ooops. Change it down to 10dB in the app, which gives you 1 watt of RF power in the G2. Now every message is still acknowledged.
# Well, almost every message.
# The story continues ... But now it's like you are really part of the mesh.

Mesh Networks

2026-05-15T18:21:07Z

Jschrempp:

There are two open source mesh networks we have experience with: Meshtastic and MeshCore. They both use LoRa technology. LoRa radio technology is low power (1 watt or less) and long range (miles) and line-of-sight. It is also very slow - text messages, not images; certainly not voice. ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHWepP1ZWTk An explanation of LoRa technology.])

Both meshes run on the same inexpensive hardware. Both run without any reliance on the internet. The difference is in architecture.

'''[[Meshtastic]]''' is the older network. Meshtastic used "controlled flooding" protocol. Every client in a Meshtastic network can retransmit messages it receives from other nodes. This makes the network immediately resilient. 100 people hiking in the woods can use Meshtastic nodes to keep in touch. It is a fire-and-forget network; if your node is not connected when a message comes by, you miss it.

'''[[MeshCore]]''' has three kinds of nodes: companion, repeater, room-server. All three will run on the same hardware platforms. A companion node is one you carry with you - a leaf node. Companion nodes do NOT repeat messages. A repeater node, well, repeats messages. That's all it does. A MeshCore mesh requires repeaters to be in positions where they can communicate with other repeaters to spread out messages they receive from companions. MeshCore's room-server has a special task - it hosts an access controlled chat room. Companions can log-in to a room-server and leave messages for others to read.

The same hardware devices support Meshtastic and MeshCore.

Because Meshtastic devices are both client and repeater, people often carry them around and the mesh is constantly reforming. This is great when you are out in the wilds. When you are in a dense urban area all the messages advertising nodes can clog the mesh.

MeshCore repeaters are dedicated devices so they tend to stay in one place. This makes the MC mesh more stable topologically. A reply to a message that goes from router x to y to z can use the return path of z to y to x. There is no need to flood every message. This keeps utilization lower.

=== Radio Things ===

[https://bayme.sh/docs/getting-started/recommended-hardware/ Bay Mesh] has some good hardware recommendations.

Height above ground will dramatically improve your experience. The higher the better. If you drive to the top of a hill your signal will propagate much further. Like A LOT further. In one experiment we got good reception 1/4 mile down the block in an urban setting; the same devices with one on a hill worked at 3 miles! Nothing beats a high placement with clear line of sight.

Line of sight planning tools

* The official [https://site.meshtastic.org/ Site Planner] shows how far your radio will reach
* [https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/ Move two pins and see what's between them]
* Pick a location [https://heywhatsthat.com/ and see the horizon view]
* Give it your location [https://www.peakfinder.com/ and see the peaks]

The cable between your node and the antenna makes a difference. Sometimes you might want the antenna a ways away from your node. Then cable loss can be a big factor and depend on the type of cable. KMR 240 would be fine under 5-10 feet. KMR400 or KRM600 is better and also allows you to go 10-30 feet. It’s usually easier to just put the radio on the pole close to the antenna with a long power or network cable.

Adapters also introduce signal loss. Try to avoid them.

Some antennas have a built in right-angle joint. It seems convenient but in testing several of these we found that while straight they had a SWR of almost 1:1, when in right-angle position the SWR was 3:1 - yikes!

If you have a node that can run high power, like the Station G2, then you can up the RF output to compensate for antenna configuration. What if you have a small unit like a Heltec V3? You might wonder which is better:
* a well tuned 2.5dBi whip antenna with a short cable
* a nice 6dBi antenna with two short cables and an adapter to connect them
If you figure this out, let us know!

If you are in a noisy area, then a well tuned RF filter can boost your signal reception dramatically. They are pricey.

Meshtastic

2026-05-15T18:19:38Z

Jschrempp: /* Radio Things */

== Overview ==

Meshtastic is an open source, low bandwidth mesh network that runs on 933MHz in the U.S. It runs on LoRa radio technology which is very low power, line of sight. Nodes can broadcast for miles if you are high on a hill. In an urban, flat area you might get 0.25 miles. But the power of the mesh is that if just one node can hear your message, then it can be relayed on to others.

Some people use these nodes when they are out camping in the wilderness without any cell phone service. The nodes automatically repeat messages and share their GPS location. It's a great way for a team to stay in touch.

Of course if you are the only person in your area running a Meshtastic node, then you won't have anyone to chat with. If you want to join a local mesh then you should web search for a group of enthusiasts in your area. Often an area will use radio settings that are different from the defaults, so you need to know what they are. For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area there is an active group named [https://bayme.sh Bay Mesh]. They use Discord to help people grow the mesh.

You can buy a node for as little as $25. The node pairs with your phone over Bluetooth and you control it via the Meshtastic app. Once you have your node running you can send text messages to other nodes, or send a message to the "general" channel. Channels are encrypted but the General channel has a default encryption key of AQ== so everyone can read those messages.

You can read up on this fascinating technology at the [https://meshtastic.org/docs/introduction/ Meshtastic web site].

Check out their [https://meshtastic.org/docs/terms/ glossary of terms] and their [https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/tips/ configuration tips].

The first Meshtastic node was probably Kevin Hester, one of the guys who kicked off the whole thing. It got going sometime around 2018 or 2019. Not sure what the first LongName, ShortName, or Hex ID was. Here's an [https://www.qrz.com/articles/node_1718399850 article on the history of Meshtastic]

== Why this page? ==

While the documentation is good, it feels like a lot is left unsaid. This page holds tips, tricks, and just bits of knowledge that we have come across in bringing up our own nodes into the BayMesh. If you read something here that you know is in the docs, please comment or email and we'll replace whatever we have here with a link to the official docs. OR, if you read something here that you think is wrong or off base, please post to the #docs channel on [https://discord.com/invite/ktMAKGBnBs Discord].

Hopefully we'll get this knowledge into the official docs, but that can take a while. In the meantime, this page can be updated on the spur of the moment.

AND, if the reader feels like it, please take information from this page and add it to the official docs.

== Low Level Details ==

Low level, but still crucial to get right.

=== Protocol Details ===

Best to read [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/mesh-algo/ the official docs]

=== LoRa Details ===

Meshtastic runs over LoRa. LoRa is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirp_spread_spectrum spread spectrum technology]. Read [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/ Meshtastic overview] for a good start.

LoRa spread spectrum technology is very good in noisy environments. The radio can reliably receive data at -14dB or better.

The LoRa Physical Header contains a sync word, which is a unique identifier that allows different LoRa networks to distinguish themselves. For Meshtastic, this sync word is set to 0x2B. This allows Meshtastic radios to recognize and process packets that are intended for their network and filter out other LoRa traffic that might be on the same frequency.

For those familiar with LoRa you might wonder what settings are used. Meshtastic allows any of the LoRa parameters, but also supplies a number of "presets". This is important because radios must use the same LoRa settings (e.g. network id, bandwidth, spreading factor, frequency slot) to be able to communicate. For example, if some nodes use a spreading factor of 7 and others use 9, they will not communicate; you will have two meshes. There are a few exceptions.

Coding Rate does not affect the ability to communicate between nodes. A node in a noisy environment could choose to use a lower coding rate and still participate in the network. The lower coding rate would only affect communication to the first hop. Lower coding rate will make the messages take more air time, thus increasing congestion.

The actual center radio frequency used is configured using the Frequency Slot. Nodes using different Slots cannot communicate with each other. Different regions have a different number of Slots available. The number of slots also depends on the LoRa Bandwidth setting. [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/radio-settings/#north-america-frequency-bands More info] Note that Medium Slow uses Slot 52; Medium Fast, 45; Long Fast, 20. Use the [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/radio-settings/#frequency-slot-calculator frequency calculator] to discover the actual center frequency.

On iOS, if you set the Slot to 0, then the firmware will pick a Slot based on the name of your Primary Channel. Your Primary Channel name should either be blank, or match the camel case name of the preset you use. For example, if you set Frequency Slot to 0 when using the Medium Slow preset, your Primary Channel name should be MediumSlow or blank. If not, you will not be on the same Frequency Slot as the general population of nodes using Medium Slow preset.

By choosing LoRa settings and/or frequency slot that does not match one of the presets you will create your own independent mesh. But where's the fun in that?

==== Long Fast? Medium Slow? Something Else? ====

Presets make it easy for different people to configure their nodes into the same mesh. As said above, if the user configures these settings by hand, they have to get all of them exactly the same.

The Presets were created to offer a balance of distance and speed but to be more biased towards distance rather than speed. Long Fast is actually pretty slow, but gives long distance.

In areas where the mesh is more dense we can tip the balance towards speed rather than distance. Even though it is called "Medium Slow", this Preset is still faster than Long Fast at the expense of a little bit of distance.

([https://k2xap.radio/mesh/lora-shapes LoRa shapes] is an interesting dive into this.)

Speed is important in a busy mesh. The slower the transmission, the longer each message takes. And if two nodes transmit at the same time then no nodes will be able to understand the message. Faster speed means less air time for each message and lower overall utilization of the mesh air waves - less congestion.

Many other meshes are starting to bias even further towards speed by using Medium Fast, Short Fast, etc. You can [https://meshtastic.org/blog/why-your-mesh-should-switch-from-longfast/ read the article on it].

== The Mesh ==

=== Time Windows ===
With all the nodes rebroadcasting messages you might think the mesh would collapse from congestion; Meshtastic uses some clever algorithms to prevent this.

First, there are three different time windows that a node might broadcast in: Early, Default, Late.
# The Early window is used by Routers and Repeaters - nodes in strategic positions. When these nodes rebroadcast a message a lot of other nodes will hear them and decide not to rebroadcast the message.
# The Default window is used by Client and other variations of Client. This is the main rebroadcast window that nodes use. Below we will describe how nodes decide when to rebroadcast a message.
# The Late window starts after the Default window. It starts after the end of the longest client resend wait window (a second or two). This gives Client nodes a chance to mesh messages before the ROUTER_LATE resend would shut them down. It is used by ROUTER_LATE to rebroadcast a message without disturbing the normal mesh that is being handled by other node types.

=== Managed Flood Routing ===

* When a message is received a node does not immediately resend it. It puts the message in a queue to resend. The queue can hold 30 messages of all types. If the queue is full, then older messages are dropped; this should only happen in the case of high network congestion.
* Nodes keep a list of the messages they have recently received. When a node is ready to resend a message it checks if the message is already on that list; if so then the node does not resend it.
* A node that receives a message notes the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the transmission. A node waits some time before resending the message. The stronger the signal it received, the longer it waits before resending. The idea here is that a high SNR means the sending node is nearby; a low SNR means the sending node is far away. With this algorithm nodes that are furthest from the sender (theoretically) will resend the message first thus pushing the message further away from the sending node. Nodes between the sender and the rebroadcaster will see the resend and that will stop them from resending the message. The range is between 0 and 16 multiples of the slot time.
* Each node monitors the radio utilization. If the utilization is "too high" it waits for the utilization to drop below a certain value.
* When a node is ready to send a message it monitors the radio and waits for a time when the air waves are clear (Channel Activity Detection or CAD). The amount of time needed for this process is called a "slot time".

=== About Device Roles ===

An interesting blog post about [https://meshtastic.org/blog/choosing-the-right-device-role/ choosing the right device role]. And one specifically about [https://meshtastic.org/blog/demystifying-router-late/ ROUTER_LATE]. Both are good reads.

* 2.7.10 introduced a new role CLIENT_BASE. It acts as ROUTER for messages that are to/from a Favorite node. Otherwise acts as CLIENT. This role is useful for a rooftop node that acts as the connection for your other nodes. For instance, your house has a handful of lower power nodes that have trouble being heard by the mesh. You set them to CLIENT_MUTE and put one node on your roof in the CLIENT_BASE role. That high up node will make sure your other nodes can send and receive to the larger mesh.

* A ROUTER node resends quickly in the Early window and it always sends every message it gets. The assumption is that only nodes in key mesh positions will be set to ROUTER. When the ROUTER node sends a message many clients waiting to resend the message will hear the ROUTER's resend and then not resend the message themselves. If everyone runs as ROUTER then every node would be sending every message, "managed flood routing" goes away, and the mesh will collapse from over utilization.

* A ROUTER_LATE node will first act as a normal Client and work the managed flooding algorithm during the default window. However, if it loses the race and sees another node rebroadcast during the Default window, then it will still resend the message in the Late window. This is intended for the case of a directional antenna that is specifically pointed to link to another far away area. Think of this as "try to be normal but if someone shuts you down, then wait until the other mesh nodes are done, and speak anyway".

== Messages ==

When a node wants to send a message, it waits for a clear time on the radio. See [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/mesh-algo/#carrier-sense-multiple-access-with-collision-avoidance-csmaca the doc]. A node will buffer up to 30 messages waiting for a clear time or while waiting for the send timer on any particular message. At 25% utilization, telemetry and other low value messages will start getting dropped.

When a message is sent, remote nodes in the same mesh may receive it and decide to resend it.

A broadcast message is one sent with no recipient. For example, automated Node Info and telemetry "broadcasts". Any message sent on one of the Channels (see below) is considered a broadcast message because it does not have a recipient. If the sending node hears its message rebroadcast by another node, then the message is marked "acknowledged".

Messages that are not acknowledged will be resent up to two more times. Typically within a few seconds.

A direct message (DM) is one sent with a designated recipient node. Nodes are designated using their hex id. For example, !432e1cd4 When the sending node hears its message rebroadcast by another node, the status becomes "acknowledged by another node". When the message reaches the designated recipient node, that remote node will reply with an ACK message. If that message makes it back to the sending node, then the message status is "acknowledged" and a green lock icon appears on the message (iOS).

Note that a mesh is dynamic. A message might make it to another node and be rebroadcast, yet the originating node does not hear the rebroadcast for some reason, so it sends the message again. If this happens 3 times the status will be "Max Retries Reached", even though the message made it to the mesh. Or the ACK from a recipient might be lost on the way back to the sender. These things can be more common in a mesh that is experiencing congestion. So your local node might think a message was not acknowledged even though the message was received by the mesh and the designated recipient.

The longer the message, the more likely it is to fail. Reason being, these devices have relatively slow data transfer rates. The signal has to be strong enough at the receiving end for the entire message. Shorter messages are less likely to be 'broken' by having bits lost in transmission.

Each message is sent to a "port" with port numbers being:
* 1: "Text"
* 67: "Telemetry"
* 3: "Position"
* 70: "Traceroute"
* 4: "Node Info"
* 71: "Neighbour Info"
* 73: "Map Report"

=== Encrypted Send Failed ===

A node sending a DM to a remote node may get the "Encrypted Send Failed" message. This happens when the sending node has a public key that does not match the key of the recipient node. These keys are kept in the NodeDB and advertised by periodic Node Info messages. A node might have a bad key for a remote client that has changed its public key, perhaps through a full reinstall of the firmware. To correct this, the sending node should delete the remote node from its NodeDB and wait for the entry to be added again. Having the remote node send a message on the Primary Channel that the local node sees can facilitate this.

=== No Channel ===

Similar to the Encrypted Send Failed error, this can happen when the recipient node has aged out of the device NodeDB after the phone app has already pulled the NodeDB. Thus the phone app has a node in it that is not present in the device NodeDB. Fix this by exiting the phone app and reconnecting to the device.

Note, however, that if the recipient node is no longer in the device NodeDB, then you will not see it in your node list after restarting the app - that node is gone. To prevent this, you should mark nodes as "favorite". Nodes that are marked as Favorite are not aged out of the device NodeDB.

(In a future version of the apps, any node that you DM will automatically be marked as a Favorite.)

== Configuration Notes ==

The default is "Client". In this mode your node will participate in the mesh by retransmitting messages it receives. (This is a simplification, read the Meshtastic web site for more details.) However, this can clog up the mesh. Unless you are building your own network in some remote wilderness, your nodes should always be configured as "Client Mute", or "Client Hidden". NEVER configure as "Repeater" or "Router" until you know your local mesh needs that.

One exception - Suppose you have several devices in your home / building. In this case you could have one node put up high, maybe in the attic or on the roof, set to "Client" while all your other nodes are "Client Mute". This way your mute node messages will get picked up by your roof top node and it will send them on to further nodes.

=== Channels ===

The Meshtastic documentation uses the term "Channel" when discussing radio (modem) presets. This is confusing. I discourage the use of Channel when talking about radio presets.

A Channel in Meshtastic is a communication mesh on top of the radio mesh. Each channel has a name and an encryption key. When a node receives a message it will try to decrypt it. The clear text message header has a hint in it (a one byte hash of the channel name) so the receiving node can guess which encryption key in its configuration to try - it does not have to try them all. If a node has the correct decryption key for the message, then it can read the contents.

While nodes in the mesh will rebroadcast channel messages, only nodes that know the channel name and encryption key can read the messages sent on that channel. If a node can read a message is it considered to be on a "local" mesh; other messages are considered on a "foreign" mesh.

Nodes can be set to only rebroadcast messages that are on their "local" mesh.

When a node receives a message that it can decrypt, it adds the originating node to its NodeDB and traffic from or to that node is considered "local". Note that setting a node to rebroadcast only "local" mesh traffic does not clear out the NodeDB. So it is possible that after setting a node to rebroadcast only "local" mesh traffic, it will continue to send messages that it is unable to decrypt. This will continue until the nodes addressed in the messages are aged out of the NodeDB. So, if you want to immediately stop forwarding "foreign" mesh traffic you should set local-only and clear your NodeDB. < Could use some double checking on this point. >

Each node has one Primary Channel, Channel 0. The name of the Primary Channel is used to determine the Frequency Slot that the node radio uses. Only nodes that use the same Frequency Slot can participate in a mesh. The user can also manually set the Frequency Slot, then the name of the Primary Channel is irrelevant. [https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/radio-settings/#north-america-frequency-bands Frequency bands in US].

Channels have other control attributes, such as whether to share exact position with other nodes in that channel.

==== Default Channel ====

Each mesh has a default Channel configuration that is the camel cased name of the preset and the encryption key of AQ==. This generates a Frequency Slot. Different presets generate different default Frequency Slots. LongFast / AQ== indicates Slot 20; MediumSlow / AQ== indicates Slot 52. (Note that in the iOS app the default channel name is just left blank and the firmware in the node fills in the channel name.)

If NOT using a preset and the Channel 0 name is blank, then the firmware will use the word “Custom” to determine the frequency slot.

==== Primary Channel ====

Typically the Primary Channel uses the default Channel name and key.

Node telemetry data is sent over the Primary Channel - such as periodic Node Info messages. Automatic broadcasts, such as periodic Node Info messages, are always sent over the Primary Channel.

Some owners prefer to change the Primary Channel for their node. They do this by changing the name or encryption key (preferably both). In this way only nodes who have a channel with the same name and encryption key can read messages sent by this node. Thus, telemetry messages like Node Info sent over the Primary Channel are not readable by all other mesh participants. However, when they change the Primary Channel name their node is likely to pick a different Frequency Slot. If an owner wants to participate in their local public mesh, then when changing the name of the Primary Channel, they should purposely set the Frequency Slot for the preset they are using (see Default Channel above).

However, when node X sees a message from node W in a channel they both have configured, it may issue a Node Info request to node W in the same channel and node W might respond with Node Info in that channel. Of course, node X and W must share a Channel for this to happen. A node will not request a Node Info exchange if the node is just resending a message is cannot decrypt.

Questions:
# Is there a configuration to stop these node info responses on the Primary Channel?
# In this configuration, if the node issues a position request to another node does it go out on the Primary Channel? If so, then unless the other node also has the same channel name/key it will not respond, right?
# If a node does not have any channel configured with the default channel, then messages from all the "normal" nodes on the network will be encrypted and its nodedb will never get Node Info messages.

==== Secondary Channels ====

A node may have several other channels called Secondary Channels. Each Secondary Channel has a name and encryption key. These channels all use the same radio Frequency Slot determined by the settings of the Primary Channel for the node.

Messages in these Secondary Channels can only be read by other nodes that have a channel with the same name and encryption key. Thus, a Secondary Channel is a way for a group of nodes to communicate with each other in private, while still using the mesh to transport their messages.

Suppose a node changes its Primary Channel to some other name/key. Another node uses the same name/key pair for a Secondary Channel. The two nodes can still communicate as long as they have compatible radio settings.

Question:
# So, when a node receives a message does it try to decrypt the message with all the channel keys in its configuration?

==== Deleting a Channel ====

To delete a channel, open the channel config and set the channel to Disabled.

==== MQTT ====

Channels have the option for MQTT Uplink and MQTT Downlink. Uplink means you upload the packets you hear to an MQTT server, useful to show up on the internet map, or gather statistics. Downlink means you receive and then broadcast all packets from the MQTT server, this is mostly hot garbage. If you enable Downlink you might just saturate your local mesh - don't do it. In theory it's useful to bridge networks otherwise disconnected via LoRa limitations but in practice that not how it was used most of the time.

900Mhz lora is like < 1~10kbps and MQTT on WiFi could do 54Mbps. That means even extremely slow MQTT connections can saturate a LoRa mesh. Back in the day it wasn't uncommon to have someone enable MQTT downlink, then they would make LoRa unusable for everyone in their neighborhood since they would constantly hog the spectrum with random messages from MQTT.

Unless you know what you are doing, leave MQTT Downlink disabled.

=== Position Info ===

Note that position info is specified by the sending node and can be completely fabricated. A node can report itself at any lat/long it wants.

When positional information is automatically shared, it goes out on the Primary Channel (Channel 0). UPDATE 2025 August 7: Recently a firmware update was added so that if position is Disabled on Channel 0, your position will automatically be transmitted on the first secondary channel that has position enabled.

There are several ways to control how much positional information is shared. First, you can configure your node to not share position information, then nothing gets out. Second, if your device does not have its own GPS unit, then it gets the GPS position from your phone when you are connected. On an iPhone you can choose to share "precise location" or not. If you don't share precise location, then iOS takes care of fuzzing your location. Next, Meshtastic nodes have a position fuzzing function as well. You can choose to fuzz your location from 150 feet to 14 miles. Because Meshtastic position fuzzing just truncates lower order digits of the latitude/longitude the nodes using fuzzing will appear to lie on a grid when mapped.

Position sharing can also vary by Channel. You can choose to have the node not fuzz location on a particular channel. Of course, a node without GPS cannot report position any more accurately than what is provided by iOS; the errors build on each other.

The default primary channels (key of “AQ==“) can’t be set to have precise position enabled through the iOS app. This is because precise position is Personally Identifiable Info (PII) and Apple is very picky about that being shared. So the app doesn’t let you enable precise location on default channels to protect your privacy. You can enable precise location for default channels via the CLI.

If you set your node to use Fixed Location then when you save that choice the node gets a position update from your phone and uses that (subject to any fuzzing the phone does on location) but does not apply the Meshtastic fuzzing.

A node can send a position request to another node. If done through a phone app, then the request is sent on Channel 0. If the request is sent through the CLI, then it can be sent on a specific channel. If the receiving node does not have the channel configured, then it cannot decode the message and will not respond. A node might still not respond to a position request based on its settings.

[https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/radio/channels/#position-precision Position Precision documentation]

Questions
# Do nodes ever automatically request the position of another node?
# When a node receives a position request, does it always respond, based on configuration, or is there some minimum time between position responses, as there is with Node Info requests?

=== Node Information ===

==== NodeDB ====

Nodes each maintain a NodeDB. When you connect to a node with an app, the app will read the NodeDB and display information from it.

You can designate nodes as "favorite" and typically the app will put those nodes at the top of the displayed node list.

Nodes are added to the NodeDB when the node receives a NodeInfo message from a remote node.

The node's NodeDB holds 80 entries. They age out FIFO. A node that has been marked as a "favorite" will not age out of the NodeDB.

You can "reset NodeDB" to clear the NodeDB on the node. You might do this if you change meshes (choose a different pre-set) or if you change location and want to focus only on nodes in the new location. Resetting the NodeDB will wipe out favorites as well.

You can only Direct Message (DM) a node that is in your NodeDB. That's the only way your local node knows the public encryption key of the destination node. It is possible that the smart phone app displays nodes that have been aged out of your local node's NodeDB. If you DM a node that is not in the NodeDB on your local node, then the message is sent out on Channel 0.

==== Node Info ====

Node Info messages contain the node name, hardware type, location (if allowed), firmware version, etc.

Nodes will send out a Node Info message on Channel 0 based on the interval in Settings / Device / Node Info Broadcast Interval. It is recommended to set that to 3 hours or more in big meshes. On busy networks the node will send even less frequently than the configured interval. On a really small network (like 10 nodes in the NodeDB) a node might send more frequently. In general it can, and should, take hours to discover all nearby nodes. The firmware uses this algorithm

<pre>
ScaledInterval = Interval * (1.0 + ((NumberOfOnlineNodes - 40) * 0.075))
</pre>

NodeInfo messages are sent with the configured Message Hop Count Limit.

If a node receives a message on a Channel that it can read (decrypt) and it does not have the sending node in its NodeDB, then it will send a node info request to the sending node. A node will not respond to a Node Info request if it has broadcast a Node Info message within the last 5 minutes.

If you change your device name, other nodes will NOT immediately pick up the change; their own NodeDB will have the old information. Other nodes will update when they receive the next NodeInfo message from your node. If a remote node changes their private/public key (for example by a reinstall of the software without backing up the keys) then when you try to DM that node you will get an error - until your node's NodeDB gets an update from the remote node.

Consider that not every Node Info message will reach every node in the mesh. If you have been moving around with your node then many remote nodes may have old node info data for a long time.

Questions:
* Does the interval scaling only apply to telemetry? Or does it also apply to NodeInfo?

=== OK To MQTT ===

This value is set by the node that originates the message. If the message reaches a node that bridges the mesh to MQTT on the internet then only messages marked OK To MQTT should be passed on. In reality this is a request and an MQTT bridge node could ignore that flag if it wanted to.

Some areas (like the SF Bay Area) have some nodes that send traffic to a public logger using MQTT. In this particular case you can monitor the #_logger channel in their Discord server and see traffic there. This is an excellent way to see that your messages are making it into the mesh. It takes just a few seconds for your message to appear in the logger.

Note that if a gateway node (one that sends messages to MQTT) refuses to resend a message due to channel utilization, it also will not send the message to MQTT.

=== Traceroute ===

The [https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/module/traceroute/ official Traceroute docs]

The firmware will not do more than one traceroute every 30 seconds. This is to prevent congestion.

A node in a traceroute might be listed as "unknown" because it is not in the local node's NodeDB. Nodes that receive a Traceroute reply do not add all the nodes in the reply to their own NodeDB; that only happens when they receive a message from a particular node.

A node might be listed as "Repeater" (when it is not configured as a Router) because
# it does not have the channel name and key that were used for the channel that the traceroute was sent on.
# it is running firmware older than 2.5
In this case we only know there was a node involved because it decremented the hop count in the message.

Nodes will show up as FFFF in Traceroutes when they don't have the public channel set up. Or it might be a node configured for REPEATER.

If you see a node name but a ? for SNR, that is pre-2.5 firmware.

An example traceroute

<pre>
> Route: jschrempp makernexus.org --> jbs1 base San Carlos makernexus.org (8.75dB) --> Herkimer-O (-16.5dB) --> Herkimer-1!433d26b8 (8.5dB)
< Route Back: Herkimer-1!433d26b8 —-> Herkimer-O (8.25dB) --> jbs1 base San Carlos makernexus.org(-4.75dB) --> jschrempp makernexus.org (8.25dB)
</pre>

Traceroute messages are sent with the configured Message Hop Count Limit. This is also true of the response. For example, say the node sending the TR has a hop limit of 6 and it takes 5 hops to reach the destination. If the destination is configured with a hop limit of 3, the reply might not make it back.

If you don't get a traceroute reply, you can still get a lot of information about your situation by looking at the outbound flood on Meshview.
# Go to [https://meshview.bayme.sh/map SF Bay Area Meshview]
# Search for your node
# Filter for traceroutes (or just find one in the list of your node's traffic)
# Click on the "graph" link at the bottom of a traceroute message
# To see the position of the links click the little magnifying glass at the top of the TR you are looking at. Only nodes that report their position will be shown on the map. The number in each circle represents the hops away of that node.

=== Device Config ===

Questions:
# Under Display / Carousel Interval: in iOS app the value can be "off". What value does the correspond to in the web config app where the selector goes +/- ? Is it 0? -1?

== Rainbow Bridge ==

This is available in the San Francisco Bay Area (Baymesh). It allows your messages to get further reach.

Many nodes in Baymesh network will send messages they receive over the internet to an MQTT topic for Baymesh. Another way to access the bridge is to configure your node's MQTT module to be an "MQTT Client Proxy". In this case messages your node sends will be sent to the MQTT topic via your phone's internet connection. To set this up for the Bay Area mesh:

*In MQTT Config
*# Enabled
*# MQTT Client Proxy enabled
*# Connect to MQTT via Proxy enabled
*# root topic: msh/US/bayarea
*# address: mqtt.bayme.sh
*# username: meshdev
*# password: large4cats
* Channel Config
*# Set uplink in the Channel(s) you want to send on to MQTT

The Rainbow bridge subscribes to the Baymesh MQTT topic. If it receives a message from MQTT it queues that message and waits 10-15 seconds. If it does not receive the same message over the radio from the mesh, then the Rainbow bridge will send the message over the radio mesh.

The Rainbow bridge runs on a high peak in the Easy Bay named Sunol. Thus, if your message can make it to any of the MQTT bridges in the mesh (and there are many), it will eventually be resent by Sunol and get much wider distribution over the SF Bay Area.

A message might be sent to the MQTT topic by a number of different MQTT bridges. In the message that it resends, the Rainbow bridge will use the hop count of the first copy of the message it received over MQTT.

For your messages to be rebroadcast by the Rainbow Bridge several things must be true:

# Your node must have OK to MQTT enabled - so that your message will be sent by an MQTT bridge to the MQTT topic
# AND you must either
#* [https://mesh.oops.dev/allowlist Opt-in to have all your messages relayed] by the Rainbow bridge
#* On a message-by-message basis add the rainbow emoji 🌈 to the text of the message
#* "Tap back" to a message with a 🌈 or 💩 emoji within 5 minutes of the message being sent and that message will be rebroadcast by the Rainbow bridge (we use the poop emoji because there is no rainbow emoji in iOS).

== Node Communication ==

Depending on your hardware, you can communicate and control the node through a serial cable, Bluetooth, or over WiFi.

=== Bluetooth ===

The simplest way to configure and communicate through your node is with the smart phone Meshtastic app. You pair the node with your phone over Bluetooth and then can see data from the node. There are also Mac and Windows apps that work to some degree - I've found them a bit flakey.

While a node can be paired with several devices, it can only be connected to one at a time. If you connect to a node with your phone and then go to the laptop app you won't see the node there. You need to disconnect the phone from the node before you can see it in the laptop app - or with another phone.

If you get the message "you might have to forget this device" on your phone, then you do that, and eventually try to re-pair your node but the node does not display the Blue Tooth key ... Perhaps your node is currently connected to another device? Maybe you ran the Meshtastic client on your laptop and it automatically reconnected to your node and so now it isn't available to your phone? Not that this happened to me and took me 20 minutes of angst to figure out. Nope, not me. Asking for a friend.

Sometimes things have become pretty confused and we had to "forget" the node on our Bluetooth devices to get it all working again.

=== Serial ===

If you run the laptop app you can connect a serial cable to the node. This seems pretty stable. However, you MUST use a cable that supports data. A lot of cheap USB cables are power-only and this can be very frustrating. If it isn't working, check the cable.

=== WiFi ===

Some nodes support WiFi. Often when you enable WiFi it disables Bluetooth. WiFi REQUIRES an SSID on 2.4GHz that is NOT SHARED with a 5GHz network. For example, many home WiFi networks use the same SSID for 2.4 and 5 bands. The access point then "steers" devices to the correct band. This confuses the node and you'll have intermittent success. Find a way to have an SSID for just the 2.4GHz WiFi band and you'll see things work.

When on WiFi you can use a browser to connect to the node through [https://client.meshtastic.org/ the Meshtastic client]. I've found that works, but is confusing. If you get stuck, refresh the page and start again.

Another excellent choice is [https://affirmatech.com/meshsense MeshSense software]. This open source solution connects to nodes and gives you great insight into what's going on. It is not good for having text conversations, that is best done in the phone app.

=== Via the Mesh ===

Like one up on a pole. Administer it [https://meshtastic.org/docs/configuration/remote-admin/ over the mesh].

== Node Control Software ==

=== CLI ===

The command line interface is available in Python [https://meshtastic.org/docs/software/python/cli/ CLI]

The --configure command does not take all the configs from the exported file, however. This is an issue with restoring configs. Don't count on the restore to bring back your whole config.

You can request Telemetry from another node using the CLI. Telemetry includes items like battery level, temperature, and info about any sensors that are connected.

=== Apple iPhone App ===

==== DMs ====

DM Help is available if you go to Messages / Direct Messages and tap on the little question mark circled in the lower left of your display. This is a hidden gem!

In a DM, a little green lock means the specific node you messaged has acked you. Your message made it.

==== Errors on DM ====

Each node keeps a NodeDB with information on other nodes it has seen. This is displayed as a list and a map in the app. Nodes keep about 80 entries in their NodeDB, aging out older ones that are not marked as favorites. However, the iPhone app can hold information on more than 80 nodes. So, it is possible to see nodes on the map on your iPhone that are no longer in the device's NodeDB. If you try to DM one of these nodes you will get an error.

When you DM a node it is automatically favorited so that the keys don't roll out of the firmware's NodeDB.

A node can only be connected to one device at a time. When you disconnect from a node the info remains in the app for you to see. When you next connect to a "new" node with the app it will forget everything from the previous node and gather the node db from the current node.

In the node list ...

* The green lock icon represents the node having a public/private key. An amber unlock icon indicates one of two situations. 1) They are running a firmware version that predates the public key encryption for DMs. 2) They are running with HAM mode enabled.

==== the node map ====

* pulsing nodes are ones that have been seen "recently", whatever that means.

* a halo around a node indicates that the node is not sharing precise GPS location. The node is just "somewhere inside that halo".

* Nodes that do not share position information are not shown on the map.

* tap on a node circle on the map to bring up details about that node

The map displays nodes that have been seen by the connected node in the last 3 days. It is a arbitrary number based on the assumption that if it is not up for 3 days it must be dead.

==== Clear Stale Nodes ====

The app can be configured to "Clear Stale Nodes". Enabling this allows you to select a "purge after" days. Nodes are eligible to be automatically purged from the app's DB based on the last time they were heard. So if you select 7 days, it wont be until the node hasn't been heard for 7 days that it can be purged from the app. There are some caveats where a node won't be automatically purged from the app (it's a favorite, it's been "ignored", it is still in the node's DB). The routine to purge stale nodes runs periodically (every 60 minutes). So if you change the setting, it won't act on that setting until the next time the the routine runs.

==== Misc ====

Nodes running "older" versions of the firmware will incorrectly show up as "directly connected" in the node list because they cannot handle the hop start info in the messages. They still resend messages.

When you click to View Logs, it can take quite some time for the display to populate.

If you want to suppress notifications for messages on a channel, go to Messsages / Channels then long press on a channel name.

Note that you can not send a Telemetry request from the iOS app. You have to use the CLI.

The Range Test module has a default Sender Interval of 0. In the app this appears as the choice "Unset".

==== Unexpected Behavior ====

Not bugs, because this is how the team wants it to work.

* If you experiment with non-preset radio settings, the iOS app does not always communicate the changes in an effective way. One known limitation is that when running a custom setting the iOS app allows you to specify a Bandwidth of 250 kHz but the node receives a value of 0, and the firmware does not interpret that correctly.

* Power Setting - While the documentation says that 0 is recommended, if using an Apple app a 0 transmit power will be "no power". On a low power node you need to set it to 30dBm and the firmware will select the highest transmit power for the hardware. On a powerful node (like the Station G2) you need to select the appropriate transmit power to remain legal - see the section below about the Station G2.

==== Sept 2025 release ====

* icon at the top right shows when the app is sending or receiving from the connected node. Useful to know that the app has all the data when connecting to a new node.
* TCP support. If your node is on your IP network then it shows up as a possible client when you are not connected to any other node.
** If your node is on your network but doesn't show up, then it might be that your network does not pass mDNS (bonjour) messages. Try tapping the + icon and entering the IP address manually.
** Visit iOS permissions on devices and allow Meshtastic to connect to networks. iOS should prompt you to do this, but sometimes it does not. (and the option to allow this won't show up until the app actually tries to connect to an IP address)
* The BLE RSSI while connected and Advertising data during discovery are both being updated more often, you can better see your connection quality while connected now, and nodes don't linger in the available nodes if they are no longer in range anymore.

==== Questions ====

# iOS: iOS has a location setting called "only when using app". Assume this is set. I then run Meshtastic connected to my node. I then run a different app. I then lock my phone. I drive around with my node in my pocket. Does my node get new position updates from the phone? Does the iOS location setting "Always" change this behavior?

=== Apple MacOS App ===

There is an app that functions like the iOS app. Very good for running a node from a Mac.

=== Browser Based Control ===

There is a web GUI to a node. It used to be flashable to the node but that functionality was removed. Now you run the web site on a laptop/phone and it will control a local node. [https://client.meshtastic.org/ Web Client] or try [https://client-test.meshtastic.org/ the lastest test version].

You can also download the web GUI from GitHub and host it on your own system. It can be installed via a Docker container. If you need to then update that installation:

# Identify the container you want to update and the name of the image it's based on.
# Use the command '''docker stop <container_name>'''
# Remove the stopped container using '''docker rm <container_name>'''
# Download the latest version of the image using '''docker pull <image_name>'''
# Start a new container using the updated image. If you used '''docker run''' to create the original container, use the same command with the updated image. If you used '''docker-compose''', you can use '''docker-compose up -d''' to recreate the containers.
# Verify that the updated container is running as expected.
# If you no longer need the old image, you can remove it using '''docker rmi <image_name>'''

[https://meshmonitor.org/ Meshmonitor] is a new development to manage several nodes from one UI.

=== MeshSense App ===

This app can be used to monitor and control a node. [https://affirmatech.com/meshsense MeshSense] is open source ([https://github.com/Affirmatech/MeshSense GitHub]) and gives great insight into what your node is doing for the network.

It is recommended that you turn off "Automatically send Traceroute requests to active nodes when missing or when hops change" because it can result in a lot of mesh traffic. You find this through the gear icon in the upper right corner, then Settings. Note that if you do not turn this off, then MeshSense will send a LOT of traceroutes since it sends one whenever the hop count to a node changes.

Questions:
# Is there a way to set Favorite for a node?
# Can MeshSense change the configuration of a node or is it just read only?
# Is there a way to view a conversation in a Channel?
# Can we tell if a message has been acknowledged by another node?
# Is there any way to search the node list?

== Visualize the Mesh ==

Your node has a view of the mesh based on the nodes it has heard from. To get a bigger view of the mesh in your area, look for a local group that logs and plots nodes. For example, the Bay Area group has an [https://meshview.bayme.sh/map online map view] of the nodes. Note that you can filter this to show nodes on just one of the meshes in the Bay Area: long-fast, medium-slow, medium-fast.

=== Other options to view MQTT logged data ===

These are implementations of open source software. If you like what you see, then you could go to GitHub and get what you need to start one in your area.

*[https://meshview.bayme.sh/ Meshview Bay Area] BayMe.sh logger
*[https://meshview2.bayme.sh/ Meshview Bay Area Development branch]
*[https://meshyview.bayme.sh/ Meshyview, an alternative to Meshview]
*[https://mesh.stonekitty.net:8080/ BayMalla, a Malla implementation]
*[https://meshy.smerty.org/ Smerty] a different view of the BayMe.sh data
*[https://www.svme.sh/ Sacramento Valley]
*[https://mesh.stonekitty.net/ Meshview of all of California run by Nathan]

=== Meshview ===

This is the software used by many to visualize mesh traffic. It is written in Python. This [https://github.com/pablorevilla-meshtastic/meshview GitHub repo] has excellent instructions for installing the software on your own system. The software will monitor MQTT topics and deposit the data in a SQLite database: packets.db. If you want to explore the data yourself, there's nothing like having your own database on your own laptop.

Main Map Page
* Nodes are shown if they have a valid position in the database AND have been seen in the last 3 days.
* The color indicates the radio preset reported in NodeInfo. (MediumSlow, LongFast, etc)
* Routers have a slightly larger marker.
* A node will flash yellow four times when a new packet from that node is logged. (see note below)
* Click on a node and additional data is displayed
** Only data from the last 48 hours is displayed
** Traceroutes: blue dashed lines to any node that was listed next to this node on a traceroute - that is, the clicked node spoke directly to the other node when passing on a traceroute message. This data includes all traceroutes that were logged, not just ones that reached their destination. Note that you might see a solid blue line - ?? what does that mean ?? (Deduplicating the edge list did not eliminate edges)
** NeighborInfo: red solid lines, slightly thicker than a traceroute line, to each reported neighbor node. The clicked node does not have to have NeighborInfo enabled; it could have been reported as the neighbor of another node that does have NeighborInfo enabled.

NOTE: If you leave the map open updates happen about every 17 minutes. The map will stop updating if you switch to another tab in your browser or another application. When you return to the page it will update then. However, nodes logged for the first time are NOT added to the map unless you refresh the page.

== Logging Mesh Traffic with MQTT ==

In the Baymesh Discord is a channel #-logger-ms. If a message makes it to one of the MQTT bridge nodes, and the message has "ok to MQTT" set, then it will get added to a local logging database and appear in the #-logger-ms channel in just a few seconds.

In the logger channel, all of the links take you to a page within the mesh view website. You can browser around there and find all kinds of stats and things. For instance, go to your node page, find your trace route, study the graphs. To have something to study, you should run five traces to a node that is many hops away.

A node in the logger might show as a gateway. That means it has MQTT Uplink enabled and pointed to Baymesh topic:
topic: msh/US/bayarea server: mqtt.bayme.sh
[https://bayme.sh/docs/getting-started/mqtt/ Official Docs]

It can take 10 minutes for your message to appear in the Baymesh Discord logging channel.

The Baymesh Discord allows users to "claim" their nodes. When claimed, the Discord user name will appear with the node messages in the logging channels. To claim a node go to any channel and type /Linknode

You can create your own database of mesh traffic if you know the MQTT server and topic that your local area uses. [[Meshview]] gives more tips about this.

== Hardware ==

A good soul maintains [https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/F28QXD1VFWQ7 a list of Meshtastic parts on Amazon].

=== Antenna Notes ===

Are there downsides of having a 6 foot cable to my antenna? It really depends what kind of cable. Basic nodes transmit at 150mw which is often reduced to effectively 80mw after a 2 db loss from cables and connectors. At the low end every decibel is precious. It's often better to keep the cable to the antenna short, minimize connector count, and place the node with the antenna.

With a powerful node (Station G2 or the 1 watt Pi hats for example) then compensate with an extra dB on transmit.

Some web sites provide a line-of-sight analysis between any two points.

* [https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/ Gives a good line] between two sites
* [https://heywhatsthat.com Lets you view obstructions from one place]

=== Outdoor Nodes ===

Solar powered nodes in strategic placements can really improve and extend the mesh. Many people have built solar powered nodes to put up in trees or on mountain tops.

Some people have used the Harbor Breeze Solar Light to power a node. It's definitely the cheapest way to get into a solar node. You can make better ones but in CA where is is sunny all the time it's just fine. If you were in Washington it might not be sunny enough for this solution. [https://meshtastic.org/docs/community/enclosures/rak/harbor-breeze-solar-hack/ Harbor Breeze how to]

Here is a nice [https://groups.io/g/NEMARC/topic/meshtastic_tree_node/106358736 solar build step by step] and the [http://www.nemarc.org/mesh.html#treenodepartslist parts list].

This is an Instructable [https://www.instructables.com/Meshtastic-Solar-Buoy/ for a waterproof solar node].

This is a [https://www.seeedstudio.com/SenseCAP-Solar-Node-P1-for-Meshtastic-LoRa-p-6425.html pre built outdoor node 150mw] from Seeed Studio

And a nice, [https://store.rakwireless.com/products/wishmesh-meshtastic-solar-repeater-mini tight package] from Rak.

Or [https://www.seeedstudio.com/Wio-SX1262-with-XIAO-ESP32S3-p-5982.html cheapest node] we've seen.

A node [https://youtu.be/P2R9ad5PctY?si=xrEUC4DBMo35xGlb with a larger solar panel].

=== Heltec V3 ===

We have personally used the Heltec V3. It is small and simple to use. It transmits at 125mw. It offers both BLE and WiFi.

The Heltec V3 has a standby power draw of 110mA at 5v. Transmit is 262mA at 5v.

[https://docs.heltec.cn/en/node/esp32/wifi_lora_32/index.html Reference material].

It comes with a small whip antenna. When we upgraded with [https://a.co/d/hOPByNM this inexpensive antenna] our connectivity went way up. Another tip is to use a directional antenna to get your node onto the local mesh. If you know where other stable nodes are, then you can point your antenna in their direction. Directional antennas are easier to find and cheaper than buying a more powerful radio. For a stationary node you can tape a 10" x 10" sheet of aluminum foil to a piece of cardboard and place it about 3.1 inches behind your antenna to increase the directionality of the antenna. We had a 3dBm antenna and the aluminum element dramatically helped.

If your device does not have a battery, it has been reported that using USB-C cable for power can cause messages to fail to send. If you add a USB-C to USB-A adapter then delivery success goes up. Having the battery makes this a non-issue.

The "program" button will cycle the little display through the last 8 message screens.

A better antenna can be added. Basically all radios use a IPEX connector on the board, and then an antenna pigtail that changes the IPEX connector to a SMA Female. Then the actual antenna has a SMA Male connect.

Changing network connection: Suppose you have changed from Blue Tooth to WiFi and want to change back. You must first disable Wifi and reboot. THEN enable BTooth. The interface will let you turn on BT while WiFi is enabled, but that does not work.

Questions

# The display shows an arrow and a dot for the displayed node location. What does the config value "always point north" mean?

=== B&Q Station G2 ===

[https://shop.uniteng.com/product/meshtastic-mesh-device-station-edition/ The Station G2] is a big gun for a stationary node. It will transmit 1 watt of RF power (4 watts if you run in the "ham licensed" mode) which assures that someone will hear you. It costs $110, way more than other little nodes. You also need a [https://a.co/d/2DQsvhZ beefy power brick] to run it; 15 vdc at 20 watts.

The Station G2 has a resting power of 43mA at 15v. Transmit is 660mA at 15v.

The setting for LoRa Transmit Power defaults to 30dBm. That is the output of the LoRa chip. The G2 has an RF power amplifier and that pushes the actual transmit power to 4 watts. You should [https://wiki.uniteng.com/en/meshtastic/station-g2#lora-power-amplifier set the Transmit Power to 10dBm or less] in the US.
19dBm == 4.4 watt
10dBm == 1 watt
6dBm == 0.4 watt (still about 2.5 times more than the Heltec V3 and other smaller nodes)

The G2 has three LEDs on the side: Red, Green, Blue. All three should be on. If not, then your power supply is not strong enough for the G2 and you are not getting the full transmit power that you want.

According to some, the G2 has notoriously bad Wi-Fi reception.

When flashing firmware to a G2 we got "
error on web firmware flash to Station G2 esptool.js
Serial port WebSerial VendorID 0x303a ProductID 0x1001
Connecting...
NetworkError: Failed to execute 'open' on 'SerialPort': Failed to open serial port.

We had to use the CLI to flash the firmware. It wasn't hard to do. However, note that the test of '''esptool.py chip_id''' did not work but the firmware flash still did.

==== boot loop ====

It has been reported ... on a fresh install the firmware sets the TX power at 30 which is way too high for the built-in amplifier. If you're in a boot loop, try powering it from a regular USB 5v only charger, this disables the amplifier but keeps everything else running. You can then set the TX power to 10 and it should hopefully stop the boot loop.

=== RAK Wisblock ===

RAK Wisblock Core documentation says it draws 24.6mA at 3.6v for transmit. Standby draws 3.8mA. It offers BLE but not WiFi.

We deployed a [https://store.rokland.com/products/rakwireless-mini-meshtastic-starter-kit-us915-rak19003-4631-sku-115093 RAKwireless Mini Meshtastic Starter Kit] inside a Harbor Breeze solar light as described elsewhere. It did last overnight with just one day's charge of the battery.

In our experience this node has better quality transmit and receive than the Heltec V3. It is more expensive and has no display.

== Other Mesh Solutions ==

Another solution is Meshcore. It is more structured and requires planning while Meshtastic is meant to be self organizing. [https://www.perplexity.ai/search/compare-and-contrast-the-mesht-_B5nX1KzQmq0yPYpbBkzHw Comparison of Meshcore vs Meshtastic]

== A Typical Meshtastic Journey? ==

I've seen this played out several times; it is my story as well. If you're new to Meshtastic, this is what might happen to you.

# Buy a Heltec V3 because it is inexpensive and a good place to start.
# Wonder why your node sees nothing.
# Find a local Meshtastic group and realize that they are all using a different Preset. Change yours to theirs.
# See a lot of nodes, yea!
# Wonder why your messages are never acknowledged.
# Buy another Heltec V3 (or maybe 2 more since they are inexpensive).
# Discover that your nodes can talk to each other easily. Hmmm.
# Decide that funky little antenna on the Heltec might be the problem. But one or two different antennas.
# Also buy a case for the Heltec, it will keep it safe.
# Better antennas don't seem to help much.
# Put one of your nodes with what you think is the best antenna in a second story window pointing towards a big node you see in the node map. Now every once in a while a message will be acknowledged. Yea!
# Realize that moving your antenna just one foot to the side might improve message receipt. What?
# Buy a Station G2. It's expensive and not portable, but it will put out 1W of power; 8 times more than the Heltec.
# No difference. Huh?!?
# Realize that all three lights on the Station G2 are not lit up. Figure out what that means. Oh.
# Spend time figuring out what kind of power supply that Station G2 needs. Try a bunch at home, find that none work.
# Spend $15 on a beefy Anker power supply that will put out 15v. ([https://a.co/d/2DQsvhZ link, you're welcome])
# Bingo! Every message is acknowledged!!
# Realize that setting 30dB transmit power in the phone app translates to 3 watts of RF power in the G2. Ooops. Change it down to 10dB in the app, which gives you 1 watt of RF power in the G2. Now every message is still acknowledged.
# Well, almost every message.
# The story continues ... But now it's like you are really part of the mesh.

Mesh Networks

2026-05-15T18:18:25Z

Jschrempp:

Bandsaw tips

2026-05-14T21:54:50Z

Jschrempp: Created page with "General tips on bandsaw usage. == Fence == Bandsaw fences are not adjusted to the table, they are adjusted to the blade. The blade width, and wheel tracking can affect the angle of the cut wrt to the fence. The proper way to adjust the fence is: # Take a piece of plywood that is square # using your square draw a line down the middle of the piece about 3-6” from the edge # freehand cut on this line about halfway # while the blade is still in the cut, stop the saw an..."

General tips on bandsaw usage.

== Fence ==

Bandsaw fences are not adjusted to the table, they are adjusted to the blade. The blade width, and wheel tracking can affect the angle of the cut wrt to the fence.

The proper way to adjust the fence is:
# Take a piece of plywood that is square
# using your square draw a line down the middle of the piece about 3-6” from the edge
# freehand cut on this line about halfway
# while the blade is still in the cut, stop the saw and without moving the plywood, clamp it to the table.
# slide the fence up against the edge, loosen the fence and make it flush up against the plywood. Then tighten the fence.

This has to be done every time the blade is changed. In most cases it's not worth the effort and a little angle in the cut isn't going to be a problem.

MN Woodshop

2026-05-14T21:53:43Z

Jschrempp: /* Band Saws */

[[Category:Maker Nexus Makerspace]]
[[Category:Equipment]]
[[Category:Woodshop]]

[[File:mn-woodshop.jpeg||Maker Nexus woodshop]]

[[File:mn-woodshop2.jpeg|thumb|Another angle of the Maker Nexus woodshop]]

= About the Maker Nexus woodshop =

We have a full [[Woodshops|woodshop]] on site. [https://www.makernexus.org/join-maker-nexus Members] take classes to gain certification to use the equipment on their own to build everything from turned pens up to large furniture. We feature a wide variety of hand and power tools, including a [[SawStop_Professional_3HP_Table_Saw|SawStop]] table saw and a 4x4' [[Shopbot_and_Tormak#ShopBot_Alpha|Shopbot]] CNC router. Various tables can be used for glue-ups and work assembly. We use mobile dust collectors and ShopVacs to help keep the area tidy.

Non-members may take skill or project-based [https://www.makernexus.org/classes classes] to learn how to use the equipment as well.

= Education =

[[Woodworking Camp]]

= Available Tools =

[[File:mn-bandsaws.jpeg|thumb|Bandsaws]]

== Band Saws ==
* [[Jet JWBS-14CS 14" Woodworking Band Saw]]
* [[Grizzly G0511 20" Heavy-Duty Bandsaw]]

[[Bandsaw tips]]

== Drill Presses ==
* [[Delta 17-900 Drill Press]]
* [[Delta 11-990 Benchtop Drill Press]]
* [[PowerMatic Drill Press]]

== Jointer ==
[[Powermatic 60 B 8" Jointer]]

[[File:mn-woodlathes.jpeg|thumb|Woodshop lathes]]

== Lathes ==
*[[Nova DVR XP Woodlathe]]
*[[Jet 1014 Mini Lathe]]s (4)

[[MN Wood Lathe advice | Advice on wood lathe use]]

[[File:mn-mitersaws.jpeg|thumb|Miter saws]]

== Miter Saws ==
[[DeWalt 12" Sliding Compound Miter Saw]]

== Mortiser ==
[[Powermatic PM701 Benchtop Mortiser]]

== Planer ==
[[Powermatic PM180 18" Planer]]

== Scroll Saw ==
[[DeWalt DW788 20" Variable-Speed Scroll Saw]]

[[File:mn-tablesaw.jpeg|thumb|SawStop table saw]]

== Table Saw ==

=== SawStop cabinet table saw ===

We have a: [[SawStop Professional 3HP Table Saw]]. Please read that page on how to not trigger the saw brake inadvertently.

Please see our [[Woodshops#Hazards_from_saw_blades|table saw safety notes]].

[[File:mn-panel-cnc.jpeg|thumb|Panel saw, router tables, ShopBot CNC]]

== Panel Saw ==

== Router Table ==

* We have 1/4" and 1/2" collets

[[Bosch Router]]

== CNC Router ==

===ShopBot===
We have a 4x4 ShopBot. We have a dedicated page for the [[Shopbot and Tormak#ShopBot_Alpha|Shopbot]]

We have a license to the makerspace edition of Vetric V-Carve. To activate your copy use the license key found in [https://docs.google.com/document/d/11AxnwOG4xetnLw79vpIqZA8DK5CgwhHUWFBRJLU-QjA/edit this document on our GSuite file share].

[[File:mn-handtools.jpeg|thumb|Various hand tools]]

== Manual Tools ==
* Screwdrivers and bits
* Wrenches
* Pliers
* Chisels
* Rulers
* Machinist squares
* Saws
* Clamps

== Fasteners ==
* Screws
* Nails
* Dowels

== Hand Power Tools ==
*Drills
*Drivers
*Routers
**Plunge Router
**Fixed Base Router
**Trim Router
*Sanders
**Random Orbit Sander
**Belt Sander
*Sawzall
*Skilsaw

When using the battery powered tools, always pull a fresh battery off the charger (and put any battery previously attached to the tool onto that same charger) when you start to use a tool.
That way, regardless of what pattern other people are following, you always start off with a fresh battery, and at least one other fully-charged battery will be available for the next person who needs one.

[[File:mn-downdrafttable.jpeg|thumb|Downdraft table, spindle sanders, belt sander]]

== Downdraft table ==

== Sanders ==
*[[Jet JWDS-1632 16" Drum Sander]]
*Belt & Disc Sander
*Spindle Sander

== Dust Control ==
Many woodworking tools produce fine dust, which can be both a breathing hazard and a potential fire hazard. Sawdust and other debris on floors can also be a slipping hazard. At Maker Nexus we employ a number of measures to mitigate these hazards.

Hoses from our central [[#Dust Collectors|dust collectors]] connect to various machines in the Wood Shop to suck up dust as it is created and filter it out of the air. When using machines connected to the dust collectors, aways check to see that the air intakes are drawing effectively.

Our [[#Air Filtration|air filtration]] units can continuously circulate the air in the shop, filtering out dust not picked up by the dust collectors. A home-built [[#Air Quality Monitoring|air quality monitoring system]] incorporating multiple particle counters will control the air filtration units and also allow us to keep a record of air quality in the shop.

We have several [[#Shop Vacs|shop vacs]] (as well as dust cloths, brooms, and mops) for members to use to clean their work areas and the surrounding floor. When using tools that require reservations, remember to stop work in time to use the last portion of your reserved time slot—''not'' the beginning of the next person's time—for clean-up.

Finally, when you are using a machine that generates a lot of dust, or when particularly dusty operations are going on in the shop, we recommend—and may sometimes require—that you wear a dust mask.

=== Dust Collectors ===
When you turn off a dust collector, after it spins down, turn the beater handle through 3-4 complete rotations to knock free any material that has been pulled tight against the filter paper. If you don't do that, the filters get clogged and CFM goes down, and air quality suffers. (The beater handle is the metal handle that hangs down from the top of the filter.)

* [[Jet DC-1200VX Dust Collector]]
* [[Powermatic PM1900 Dust Collector]]

=== Air Filtration ===

[[Jet AFS-2000 Air Filtration Unit]]s

=== Shop Vacs ===

== Personal Protection ==
Faceshield with airflow [https://www.amazon.com/TREND-AIR-PRO-Airshield-Faceshield/dp/B002Q0Y5IU TREND AIR PRO Airshield Faceshield ]

MeshCore

2026-05-11T18:25:20Z

Jschrempp: /* Repeaters */

MeshCore

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Don't set your companion to 2-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times
: Outdoor node. [https://store.rokland.com/products/wismesh-repeater-mini-reliable-coverage-expansion-for-smart-networks This is a nice one.]

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-05-11T13:58:53Z

Jschrempp: /* Companion */

MeshCore

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Don't set your companion to 2-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

Regions
: open a channel convo > 3 dots > set region scope > 3 dots > discover regions

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

DeWalt 12" Sliding Compound Miter Saw

2026-05-10T20:35:36Z

Jschrempp: /* Tips & Tricks */

[[File:DeWaltSlidingCompoundMiterSaw.jpg |400px|thumb|left|DeWalt 12" Double Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw]]
<br clear="all">

== Description ==
''TBW''

=== Classes ===
{{RequiresBOSS|class=Woodshop I - table saw, jointer, planer, miter saw}}

=== Specifications ===
''TBW''

* ''Electrical spec: ''
::'''120 V ~ &emsp; 60 Hz'''
::'''15 A'''

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
===MN Asset Details===
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
[[File:DeWalt_DWS780_Miter_Saw_SN.jpg|300px|thumb|right| DeWalt 12" Sliding Compound Miter Saw
Serial Number Plate]]
* ''Location: '' '''Wood Shop'''
*''Model Number: '' '''DWS780 (Type 20)'''
*''Serial Number: '' '''91126'''
*''MN Asset Number: '' '''mnAN'''
<br clear="all">
</div></div>

==Safety Specifics==
{{AllSafetyRulesApply}}

''TBW''

==Documentation==
[https://servicenet.dewalt.com/documents/English/Instruction%20Manual/N466020,DWS780.pdf Instruction Manual]

==Materials, Tooling, Accessories==
''TBW''

==Settings==
''TBW''

==Tips & Tricks==
[https://youtu.be/BMJYOXLegHo?si=RVl71ZTtcf1c6NnC&t=1010 Tips on Miter Saw safety]

Back to [[MN-Woodshop]] Equipment List

[[Category:Equipment]]

XTools Metalfab

2026-05-07T00:08:27Z

Jschrempp:

The XTools Metalfab CNC fiber laser will cut metal.

How to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRKqGSoiewk cut a bending line].

== Part not cutting as expected ==

Be sure to set the "Precise DXF parsing" toggle in the user settings.

== Gantry Alignment ==

The gantry can get out of square, and not by a small margin. We have seen it off in the Y-axis by more than 1mm.

How to check if the gantry is running true:

Check the coordinates: At the bottom of the screen, there is an X/Y/Z coordinate indicator for the location of the torch head. On the right-hand side is a dropdown menu where you can manually set the location. Move the torch to each corner; they should read 0mm as the min and 610mm as the max. The corners should be:
* Back Left: X: 0mm, Y: 0mm
* Back Right: X: 610mm, Y: 0mm
* Front Left: X: 0mm, Y: 610mm
* Front Right: X: 610mm, Y: 610mm

The Square Test: Cut a large square — the larger the better, as it will accumulate more error. Once cut, rotate the square 90° and try to place it back in the opening it came from. You will be able to see any accumulated error immediately.

3D Printing and Modeling

2026-05-05T14:23:58Z

Jschrempp: /* The UPS Store */

{{About|3D printing and modeling|at the Maker Nexus makerspace in Sunnyvale, CA|[[MN 3D Printers]]}}

= What is 3D printing? =

The two popular versions of 3D printing are:

* '''Building with plastic filament.''' Filament Deposition Modeling (FDM) uses spools of thick plastic thread. This filament passes into a printing head which heats it to a liquid state, then carefully drops it onto the build surface or onto parts of the model. Models are built from the bottom up as the head moves up (or the bed moves down). This method isn't too messy but there can be dangerous fumes with some filament materials.
* '''Curing plastic with a laser.''' A platen is submerged in a vat of resin and a laser shines onto the platen to harden the plastic. Models are built upside down as the platen is pulled up out of the vat. You have to be careful with the liquid resin, and you have to wash the model in alcohol after printing.

In both cases, a hard plastic part is created. You can use a flexible filament or add flex joints into your model to give it movement.

Because the models are constructed with thin layers, they take hours (or days!) to create your part. It's best to plan your project with smaller parts so if the printing doesn't succeed then you don't have to reprint the whole part.

= Safety =

There are more [https://makernexuswiki.com/wiki/MN_Safety safety considerations] than what's listed here. But these are some things we have learned:

== In general ==

3D printing is one of the ''few cases'' where you can start a job and then walk away as it is running. The likelihood of a part (or machine) catching on fire is not as high, provided the machine is in good shape. It is more likely that your print fails and you end up with a spaghetti-like blob on the build plate.

* '''Safety should be the most important priority.''' Always look at the machines and the work area. If something doesn't feel right, stop. If you need help, ask someone or a staff member.
* '''Monitor your print in the beginning.''' It is a good idea to make sure that your print starts as expected. Once you are confident the part is building as expected, you can turn your attention elsewhere.

== Hazards from a hot build plate ==

* '''FDM printer beds can get quite hot.''' If you touch it briefly, you won't like it but you probably won't be burnt.

== Hazards from a hot nozzle ==

* '''FDM nozzles are ''very'' hot!''' The print head literally needs to liquify a solid filament quickly, so these parts should never be touched. They will definitely burn you, or drop hot liquid filament on you.

== Hazards from fumes ==

* '''Plastics like ABS have toxic fumes.''' Be aware that our 3D printers are in an open shared office, so you cannot print ABS. (Except for really small prints, and only in the enclosed printer.) PLA and PTEG are less toxic, but you still shouldn't breathe in their fumes.

== Hazards from a print falling over ==

* If the print falls sideways then the print head is printing in mid air. This usually creates a huge mess. Most messes won't damage the printer, but it may cause a blob to form on the print head.
* '''Use supports where needed.''' Support material is recommended, and almost required for tall or thin parts.

== Hazards from print head blobs ==

* A blob can clog the print nozzle or the printing mechanism. A super bad blob can destroy the print head.

= Materials =

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or1FP43zx3I Review of different filaments]

Prusa has a nice [https://help.prusa3d.com/en/materials materials guide] with interesting information.

== PLA ==

eSun PLA+ is recommended by several people.

Buying PLA online is typically moderate price and reliable.

== Recycling ==

We are often asked about recycling scrap filament. The short story is that we don't.

[https://printcycle.org/ Print Cycle] is a non-profit that recycles 3D printing scrap!

Some companies that recycle plastic have concerns about taking in 3D printed scraps:

# They don't know what additives are in the filament
# They worry that the consumer (or Maker Nexus) will mix types of plastic

This kind of contamination would hurt the purity of their end product, so they are unwilling to accept post-consumer scraps.

There are places that make filament from recycled prints, but they use scrap that they generate so they know its composition. Prusa has [https://blog.prusa3d.com/10-tips-for-saving-filament-money-and-environment_71415/ two interesting] [https://blog.prusa3d.com/prusa-recycling-world-map_83216/ blog posts] about this, and a [https://world.prusa3d.com world map] that shows recycling centers. None are currently in California.

There is a place that [https://recyclingfabrik.com sells recycled filament].

You should not place filament or failed prints in your community recycling stream -- they are not equipped to recycle these materials, and contaminating their batches (if they fail to separate out the materials properly) can render tons of plastic destined for the landfill. Yes, throwing it in the trash is unfortunate, but hobbyist 3D printing is a very small amount of the plastic ecosystem. See [https://indepak.com/pet-petg-plastic-6-facts-need-know/#:~:text=If%20PET%20AND%20PETG%20are,of%20packaging%2C%20and%20here's%20why. this article from a plastic recycling company] for more.

= Find a Model =

== User Contributed Models ==
* [https://www.thingiverse.com Thingiverse] has a wide variety of .STL files to download and use. A great source of ideas. Hosted by Ultimaker, and probably has the largest number of designs.

* [https://www.printables.com/ Printables] is hosted by Prusa.

* [https://thangs.com Thangs] has a lot of models. You can keep yours private. It has some collaboration tools and an interesting version control system for your models.

* [https://grabcad.com/library GrabCAD] is another interesting group of more professional looking models. Includes models of common parts that you can include in your designs. For example, all the Arduino boards are available.

* [https://makerworld.com/en Maker World] is a site that is hosted by Bambu Labs.

* [https://cults3d.com/en Cults 3D] has a lot of high-quality designs, but beware that many will be paid designs. (In my experience, the paid designs are generally inexpensive and high quality. [[User:DavidTomaschik|DavidTomaschik]] ([[User talk:DavidTomaschik|talk]]) 14:05, 3 March 2025 (EST))

== Museums and Government Models ==

* [https://www.myminifactory.com/users/nationalmuseumswe National Museum of Sweden] has scanned their collection of sculpture.

* [https://3d.si.edu/browser The Smithsonian Museum] has many interesting models. Natural history and man-made - anyone want to 3D print a copy of the Apollo Command Module escape hatch?

* [https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/models NASA] has files for their space craft and more.

* [http://jthatch.com/Terrain2STL/ Terrain To STL] will generate a surface mesh of anywhere in the world. There is simple [https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-3D-Print-Topographic-Maps-and-Terrains/ Instructable on how to use it].

* [https://cadmapper.com/ CADMAPPER] will give you terrain AND the buildings that are on it.

== Other Interesting Sites ==

* [https://deckinabox.sgenoud.com/token-tray-fdm Board Game] accessory holders, easy tool to design your own.

== Models for Purchase ==
* [https://www.cgtrader.com/ CGTrader] Lots of models for purchase, including a number of celebrity heads.

TIP: If you have a virtual reality headset, you can import your model to AltspaceVR and interact with it in VR! [[Virtual_Reality#Your_model_in_VR | We have some instructions on how to do this]].

= Get Your Model Printed =

== Own Your Own 3d Printer ==

Having your own printer gives you unlimited time. But you also must be willing to care for the machine. At Maker Nexus we use the Prusa MK3s printers. During our [https://www.makernexus.org/covid-shield-nexus COVID response] they ran continuously for months without a problem. [[3D_Printers|Or join Maker Nexus and use our printers!]]

== Your local Makerspace ==
You're on this wiki, why not join your [[Maker Spaces|local community makerspace]]?

== By Mail ==
If you search the internet for "3d printing service" you will find many that will print your model and send it to you.

= Modeling Software =

== Parametric Modeling ==
Parametric modeling allows you to specify constraints on your designs. One constraint is the length (dimensions) of your design and that makes it easy to adjust the dimensions later. You can also specify angles, tangents, co-linearity, and much more. Some solutions actually require that you dimension everything. One issue for the newby is that when you have only a few constraints and change one the software might "solve" your geometry in a way that you did not anticipate - you use the Undo button a lot until you get used to it. Once you understand constraint use it is very powerful.

* [https://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/fusion-360-for-hobbyists Fusion 360 parametric modeling] for hobbyist and very small businesses. This is a very powerful professional, yet easy to learn, modeling tool. All your designs can be dimensioned which makes it easy to go back and say, "I want this wall to be 23mm instead of 22" and see the whole model regenerate. You can export an .STL file for import into a Slicer. We have a page of [[Fusion 360|Fusion 360 tips]].

* [https://www.freecadweb.org/ FreeCAD] is an open source alternative to Fusion360. It is very powerful but a bit quirkier than Fusion360. If you enjoy open source software, this will do a very good job for you.

* [https://cad.onshape.com/signin OnShape] is a browser based solution. It works a lot like Fusion 360. The free version makes your models open-source. That might be a problem if you're doing a work thing, but if you're just a hobbyist then why not share your designs with the world?

* [https://openscad.org/ OpenSCAD] is a text based parametric modeling solution. They offer a GUI to help you make a well formed modeling file, but the basic file is all text based. You specify objects and locations in space, and boolean operations on them, and more. It's like the MarkUp language of 3D modeling. Some people swear by it because they can know exactly what's going on - no fancy GUI to hide operations from you. You can make extremely sophisticated models with this.

* [https://github.com/SolidCode/SolidPython Solid Python] is a Python library that generates valid OpenSCAD files. If you want to write your own program to generate models in OpenSCAD, try this.

== Organic Modeling ==
This is when you are making some lifelike part. A little figure, a model of a hand, a free form art work. These don't have constraints, you just grab parts of the mesh and pull it into a new position.

* MeshMixer for creating and editing STL files is now part of the Autodesk suite and is included in Fusion360.

* Blender - Used by artists and modelers the world over. A very, very powerful open source application. I tried to use it but felt like a guy who's driven an old car now sitting in a jet fighter trying to fly the thing. Wow. I've seen spectacular things come out of Blender, but not from my hand.

== Simple Modeling ==

These solutions are the easiest to use and are a good place to start if you just want to make something quickly.

* [https://www.sketchup.com/ SketchUp] offers a free version that is very popular with hobbyists. The easy user interface allows one to quickly construct objects. They can be constrained, but that is a bit more work.

* [https://www.tinkercad.com/ TinkerCAD] is so easy that kids can use it right away.

== 3D Scanning ==

If you want to duplicate some thing, there are several ways to create an STL file of that thing.

* High Quality Laser Scanners - Can cost a couple of thousand dollars, but do a great job at capturing fine detail. I've used the Next Engine 3D Scanner to duplicate an old drawer pull with many features.

* Low Cost Laser Scanners - Can cost a couple of hundred dollars and can do a good job on items that have moderate detail. Some of them are do-it-yourself kits. I'm told they can be finicky to get aligned. Search the internet for "3D scanner".

* True Depth Camera - If your smart phone has a camera that reports depth, apps are available to create a model. I've used [http://standardcyborg.com Create 3D by Standard Cyborg] (free) on my iPhone 12 to get superb results. The iPhone 12 only has true depth on the front facing camera, which is awkward for capturing a object other than your face. However, I took several scans and stitched them together with [https://www.meshlab.net/ MeshLab] (free) and the result was exceptional.

* Photogrammetry - This software constructs a 3D model from a bunch of photos. If you want a model of a teapot, you circle the object taking a hundred overlapping photos. You can use this software to construct a much bigger item like a whole house, a room, or even an archaeological site. The more high quality photos, the better the detail. Two I've used are [http://regard3d.org Regard 3D ](free) and [https://www.agisoft.com/ Agisoft Metashape] (free demo mode).

== Cellphone True Depth Camera ==

* Capture 3D: Scan Anything
[http://standardcyborg.com Capture 3D] runs on smart phones with true depth cameras. (The front facing camera on iPhones, for example.) Scanning your face is dead easy and you see the model right on your phone. As you move the phone you need to keep the object mostly in view - makes sense. If you don't, the process stops and you get a model of what you've scanned so far. Since this is just the front facing camera it is a bit tricky to get an object all in one scan.

To use the model requires some post processing. You go to Standard Cyborg's web site and download the models you have created as "point clouds." Then use software like the free MeshLab to stitch your point clouds together and create an STL file. Once you know how to use MeshLab the whole process is very easy.

== Photogrammetry ==

In 2024 a new open source scanner was introduced that shows great promise for smaller models. [https://en.openscan.eu/ OpenScan] is both software, 3D printed parts, and some hardware. [https://hackaday.com/2024/02/19/watch-the-openscan-diy-3d-scanner-in-action/ A review of the scanner.]

I've tried two software apps on my Mac and both did the job. I walked around a person in a chair and took about 140 overlapping photos. After an hour of processing I got a model of the person and also much of the room behind them. The resolution of the model's face was far below that of the true depth camera work, so I did not follow up on these packages.

* [http://regard3d.org Regard 3D ](free) is an open source solution with a gajillion options. I eventually read their documentation and followed what it recommended. It didn't work for my project until I selected L1 for both options on camera triangulation. Then I got nice results. It is a few years old and the database did not have my iPhone model in it. At first I blamed my guessing at the missing "sensor size" parameter for my bad results, but in the end my guess of 5mm seemed to work as well as the commercial software did on the same photo set.

* [https://www.agisoft.com/ Agisoft Metashape] (free demo mode) I'm not sure how long the demo mode lasts, but this did pretty much what Regard 3D did but without all the worries. I could click each step in the processing pipeline and the software just did it. In the end the result was not that different from Regard 3D, but I did not closely compare the output.

== Generative Design ==

Software that takes an idea of what you want and creates a model for you is called Generative Design. It is a new and quickly evolving field.

* [https://www.luban3d.com/ Luban] software is like a Swiss Army knife of 3D meshes. Create a mesh from a photograph. Slice a mesh into layers. Use two images to make a two shadow cube. Some amazing stuff.

* Fusion 360 also does generative design in the paid version. For instance you might have one sketch of the mounting points on the top of a drone, and another sketch floating above that with the mounting points of a small web camera. You select the two and tell Fusion to connect the two with some structure. It generates wild organic shapes that you would never think to do.

== Point Cloud and Mesh Software ==

Sometimes your scanning software will only give you a point cloud and not a mesh. Or you'll want to manipulate the mesh a bit to remove artifacts. In my case I had three point clouds from a scan of a head. I needed to align them, create the mesh, and export it.

* [http://meshlab.net MeshLab download] This is some fabulous open source software. I tried fooling around with it and got frustrated until I found a fabulous step-by-step tutorial that told me exactly what was needed. I could now do the process again in just a few minutes. The tutorial is [http://www.heritagedoc.pt/doc/Meshlab_Tutorial_iitd.pdf on the web]. We also have a copy in the [https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1vhhkMohQiRlBn_dQExRohMpAh29jXi2e MN Members Drive]

I found a mesh was difficult to deal with in Fusion360. Fusion360 has a mesh to BREP feature, but that left me with a ton of triangles and I still had trouble manipulating it. Their community recommended a paid feature to convert a mesh to quads, but then another recommended a free tool:

* [https://github.com/wjakob/instant-meshes Instant Meshes] converts an .OBJ file to a quad mesh.

Fusion360 can be difficult to understand when using a mesh or a surface or a tspline object. Here are some things to remember:

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHtu3CDcZkU convert a mesh to a BREP]

Meshmixer can be used to [https://help.autodesk.com/view/MSHMXR/2019/ENU/?guid=GUID-749E6C72-D82B-4FA9-A157-1AE612B779AE make a surface stl file into a water tight model]

= Printer Control Software =

== Slicers ==

Slicers take your .STL model and do the work to generate GCode that can be sent to a 3D printer.

* [https://www.prusa3d.com/prusaslicer/ Prusa Slicer] is a great tool for your needs. It provides a lot of control over the slicing, grouped into simple, advanced, expert. There are a large number of settings - visit our [[Prusa Slicer | Prusa Slicer Tips]] page.

* [https://slic3r.org/ Slic3r] is the software that Prusa built their slicer on top of. Open source, you may find that leading edge features are here before they appear in the Prusa Slicer.

* [[Prusa Slicer and XL MMU]] has tips and tricks as we learn to use the 5 extruder MMU.

== Remote Control and Monitoring ==

* [https://octoprint.org/ Octoprint] Runs on a Raspberry Pi and, depending on your printer, will let you monitor and remotely control the print. With a camera attached to the RPi you can watch your print from anywhere and intervene if there's a problem.

= Maintenance and Troubleshooting =

== Troubleshooting software ==

* [https://www.pronterface.com/ Pronterface] runs on your laptop and sends commands to your 3D printer from a graphical user interface. It can be very helpful in diagnosing issues with your printer.

== Calibrate the Extruder ==
[https://all3dp.com/2/extruder-calibration-6-easy-steps-2/ An interesting article] on calibrating the extruder on a 3D printer. The basic steps are to ask the printer to extrude a specific amount of filament, measure the actual amount of filament used, then adjust the extruder constant (steps per mm of filament used) to reflect the actual value. Then remeasure. On one printer, I found the default was extruding 102.5mm when it was supposed to be extruding 100. I think this was making rough top layers on my prints. It can also affect what you think is the correct height adjustment for the first layer if you rely on a printed patch that you feel for smoothness. The linked article walks through the process, including a couple of g-codes you need to be able to send to do run the test and set the adjustment.

= Techniques =

== Tips on Printing ==

A very good [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_ZGZe-pbTI video about support material] and how you can optimize it.

How to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKrDUnZCmQQ make box lids that fit]

== Other sites ==

[https://www.3dhubs.com/talk/thread/best-printing-practices-makerbot-replicator-2-and-2x Best Practices at 3D Hub].

[https://www.prusaprinters.org/how-to-print-maps-terrains-and-landscapes-on-a-3d-printer/ How to get and print a 3D landscape of anywhere]

[https://all3dp.com/2/annealing-pla-prints-for-strength-easy-ways/ Annealing your printed PLA model] can dramatically increase its strength.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kbjZobJtbM 3D print your own filament] to give you new colors or variegation. Then print with your own custom filament.

[http://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/S62.12/people/vernelle.noel/Plastic_Snap_fit_design.pdf Design of snap joints in plastic.] A great reference.

== Ceilings in your model ==

The MakerBot software defaults do NOT do a good job at putting roofs over some parts. To correct this you need to modify your device settings. Look for the "create a profile" button. First select the correct device, material, etc. Now click Create A Profile. Give it a name. It will now open in Notepad. Look for the setting of "roofThickness". Set it to 3.

You could try changing "roofLayerCount_disabled" to "roofLayerCount_enabled". I have not tried that.

== Design Tips ==

[https://m.all3dp.com/2/engineering-tolerance-definition-drawing/ Designing for tolerance in your printing process] A good discussion of part tolerances with FDM printing and how to include these tolerances in your design.

[https://hackaday.com/2022/05/01/bend-your-prints-to-eliminate-supports/ Avoid supports] by designing your model to be folded.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI8OgRRF5d8 Dovetail joints] in 3D printing. A nice overview of the technique.

== Surface Finishing ==

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4e9JJkinvk Card scrapers] can make your surfaces smooth faster than sanding.

[https://youtu.be/KVf0mbBCygQ?si=N7xPGp12x__m-td- UV Resin and cornstarch] for a mirror smooth finish

== Clever or Interesting Projects ==

[https://youtu.be/y0Q9F-73Tio?si=TcSwX_rXQepxuO-P&t=149 Dual text illusion made with Fusion 360]

MeshCore

2026-05-01T14:43:43Z

Jschrempp: /* Companion */

MeshCore

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Don't set your companion to 2-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== Observer ===

Help the analysis of the mesh by dedicating a device to being an Observer.

Use a Heltec v3 [https://www.lorameshdevices.com/blog/meshcore/how-to-build-a-meshcore-observer-with-heltec-v3.html to be an Observer]

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-04-24T17:42:55Z

Jschrempp: /* Open Questions */

MeshCore

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Don't set your companion to 2-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: The clock resets after each reboot. (verified on my G2 and my RAK Wisblock)
: Login remotely and in the repeater settings -> Sync Clock
:: on the Wisblock it worked
:: on the G2 the time was displayed wrong in the status page but the Sync Clock command thought it was ok

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-04-24T17:34:03Z

Jschrempp: /* Open Questions */

MeshCore

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Don't set your companion to 2-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: It was said that the clock resets after each reboot. True?
: CLI commands: '''clock''' and '''clock sync''' or in the repeater settings -> Clock Sync

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-04-24T17:30:35Z

Jschrempp: /* Open Questions */

MeshCore

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Don't set your companion to 2-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

* Repeater Clock
: It was said that the clock resets after each reboot. True?
: CLI commands: '''clock''' and '''clock sync'''

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-04-24T15:03:39Z

Jschrempp: /* Open Questions */

MeshCore

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Don't set your companion to 2-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: This means that the companion can't be sure if the ping actually makes it to the repeater the user intends to test. Suppose you want to ping a repeater on your map to see if you can reach it. You send the ping to <61> and perhaps a different repeater that also uses <61> replies first. Your companion thinks the target repeater is directly reachable, but this test has not proven that.

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

MeshCore

2026-04-24T15:00:06Z

Jschrempp: /* Open Questions */

MeshCore

As we gather more tips, we'll reformat this page to be more cogent.

== Documentation ==

* [https://meshcore.co.uk/about.html Official MeshCore site]

* [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md The official FAQ] is very informative

* A good [https://www.73mesh.com/2025/11/19/RoomServers.html overview of room servers] and MeshCore in general.

* [https://deepwiki.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore The Deep MeshCore Wiki]

* [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/observer/onboard?type=companion Observer Nodes] feed the analysis sites

== Community ==

* [https://discord.gg/WPZPFE86 Bay Area Discord Server] has a lot of good dialog and help

== Live Analysis ==

* Analyzer 00id [https://analyzer.00id.net/#/map Map of Nodes] and other things.

* Analyzer LetsMesh [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/repeaters Another map of nodes] and other things

* Baus Meshmapper [https://baus.meshmapper.net/ San Francisco Bay Area]

== Misc Info ==

=== Hardware ===
For a G2, transmit power of 10 = 1 watt
For a Heltec V4, transmit power of 22 = 650 mw

The V4 doesn’t reboot after losing power without a physical reset button press.

=== Repeaters ===
: You used to worry about using the same key prefix of someone near you. You would admin via your companion to set an unused prefix. [https://analyzer.letsmesh.net/nodes/prefix-utilization Prefix Utilization grid]. But router prefix collisions do not affect message delivery, just the effectiveness of off-line mesh analysis. So it was polite to pick an unused prefix.
: As of 1.14 multi-byte path support makes this unnecessary. Instead, use any two digit prefix you want to generate your repeater's keys. Connect to your repeater and '''set path.hash.mode 1'''
: (Don't set your companion to 2-byte support until all the routers in your area are up on 1.14 or later.)
: set advert.interval 240
: set prv.key <key>
: set owner.info <info>
: for a G2 - set agc.reset.interval 4
: Paths both ways get cached and if a route is bad you might get a message to the destination but the ack may not get back. If you have a repeater you own in the path force a flood by hard pressing the logon button. The path back might still be wrong so go to the console and send “reboot” 3 times … you don’t need a confirmation just spam it 3 times

==== About Two Byte Routing ====
[https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#39-q-what-is-multi-byte-support--what-do-1-byte-2-byte-3-byte-adverts-and-messages-mean the FAQ]

With one byte routing a big network will have repeaters with duplicate ids. This makes offline analysis of the mesh very difficult. It can also lead to a bit higher mesh utilization because a router that shares an id with a router in the path will also repeat the message, but that is a marginal improvement. [https://github.com/meshcore-dev/MeshCore/blob/main/docs/faq.md#36-q-the-first-byte-of-my-repeaters-public-key-collides-with-an-exisitng-repeater-on-the-mesh--how-do-i-get-a-new-private-key-with-a-matching-public-key-that-has-its-first-byte-of-my-choosing see the FAQ]

If your companion is set for two byte routing and the message hits a repeater that is not up on 1.14 then that repeater will not forward your message. Once your area's repeaters are up on 1.14 then you can move your companion to multibyte.

=== Companion ===
: Hold down on a message and find the "heard repeats" button, it will give you more info what repeaters it hit
: Seems a lot of folks turn off auto-add contacts and just add devices out of the discovery tab manually. Some leave on auto add Repeaters so that they will show up in the application map.

Are you connecting to the mesh?
: Receiving: Tools > Rx Log will show messages coming to you.
: Transmitting: To see if you make it to the mesh, add the #test channel. Post a message and look for the number of repeaters. Also try posting !path and look for a pathbot to reply.

Traceroute
: Only works to repeaters.
: Tools > Trace Path - Using Map Select repeaters by tapping on them. Your companion has to hear from the last one in the path so you might tap on the same nodes to make the path go out and back.

Remotely connect to a repeater: Tap the repeater in your contacts list. Long press the connect button and select Flood.

==== Staleness ====
Staleness is based on last heard — the most recent time any traffic was seen from that node (not just adverts).

Thresholds:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Role !! Goes "stale" after
|-
| Repeater || 72 hours
|-
| Room Server || 72 hours
|-
| Companion || 24 hours
|-
| Sensor || 24 hours
|}

Visual cues:

* Nodes list: green dot → white dot, label changes from "Active" to "Stale"
* Static map: full color → grayed out (70% opacity + grayscale)
* Live map: full color → heavily dimmed (opacity 0.25)

Repeaters advertise every 12-24h, so 72h allows several missed cycles before flagging. Companions/sensors get
24h since they go quiet more often by design.

=== War Driving ===
Download the MeshMapper app on your phone.
Make sure your radio has joined #wardriving unless you want repeater discovery only.

== Unexplained Things ==

* All contacts not in contacts list.
: With a Heltec V4 on 1.14.0 and iOS app. I see 146 contacts in my Contacts list. When I go to Discover Contacts I see 270 contacts; the ones not in my contact list have an "add" button. In Settings > Contacts I have set to Add All and Overwrite Oldest. Why aren't all the contacts in my Contacts list?

== Open Questions ==

* Ping Warning
: You know 2 repeaters or room servers with prefix <61>. Unfortunately we won't know which of them replies to this ping request. Dismiss/Confirm.
: What exactly does this mean to me as a Companion node?

== Other Experiments ==

Sydney. Busy mesh. Something like 1300 nodes, and they seem to be doing well getting repeaters on top of tall buildings. They split into two presets 775kHz apart, one 62.5/SF7 and the other 250/SF11, and bridge between them, though it looks like the "narrow" is predominant. They have a txdelay scheme that groups repeaters by peer count and recommends different delay factors according to how well connected a node is and whether it bridges regions or just local area. When more info is available we will update this section (or remove it).

Why do we need makerspaces

2026-04-24T02:36:05Z

Jschrempp: /* Started at Red Mountain Makerspace */

[[Category:Makerspace]]

==Why Makerspaces?==
We believe that all people see opportunities to improve their world. From the person who envisions a new way to save premature infants, to the artisan with an ETSY store, to the person making a mini free library for their front lawn, to the person who makes cool ornaments for their own Christmas tree. All these people see something they would like to make to improve the world. We know that today many of these people lack the tools, the space, and the training to bring these improvements into the world. A makerspace is the place where people come to do all this.

The California Community College system has a very interesting initiative to create makerspaces throughout the state. They had several papers on their overall strategy, each with some well articulated information on why the country needs makerspaces. An excerpt from The Makerspace Startup Guide:

<blockquote>
The problem our economy is currently facing is a lack of eligible employees for “middle-skills” jobs, ones that require advanced training
but not necessarily a bachelor’s degree. According to the National Skills Coalition, in the next five years, middle-skill jobs will dominate nearly half
the employment market. In this digital age, technological advancements across sectors continue to create jobs that require very specific skill sets,
but many of our educational institutions are not evolving fast enough to meet this need.
</blockquote>

==How Do Makerspaces Help the economy?==
All businesses start somewhere. It used to be in a garage, the way Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard did. But in today's world there are not as many garages equipped to make things. And the very nature of what can be made has changed. In the old days equipment for making prototypes was expensive and hard to come by unless you were a $10 million business. Today that equipment is still too expensive for a personal garage, but it is cheap enough that a group of friends could buy it to share. This is where makerspaces come in.

So many great ideas have been realized in makerspaces. Some ideas have improved the life of one person, others have improved the local community, a few have changed the world. Makerspaces act as incubators for innovation. Being multi-disciplinary, a makerspace fosters the kind of broad, creative thinking that generates new economic value in the community. A number of businesses have been able to start because they had a local makerspace. On one end of the scale is Square - a billion dollar company that used a makerspace to prototype their first product and used that to raise venture capital. On the other end is HasBags, a sole proprietor selling unique handbags and other leather goods at local art festivals.

The commonality is that all these business founders had a place where their own sweat could be used to make, test, innovate, and iterate until they had a product that worked. A local makerspace in your community can light the fire of innovation and economic development.

=Companies=

Here are some real world stories of companies that started in a makerspace. If you know more about one of these stories, please add to the text, or email us and we will do it for you. Perhaps you know of another company? Add it!

==Square==
A mobile payment device and app that revolutionized the transfer of money for merchants and private persons. The first prototype device was created on an injection molding machine at a makerspace. [http://squareup.com Square]

Now a $3B company.

When they started out they had an idea: let everyone who sells thing be able to take credit cards. In the old days it cost a lot. You had to sign up a merchant bank, get a bulky credit card reader or one of those ancient slide things. Why couldn't everyone easy sign up to take a credit card?

The founders shopped the idea around but VCs just didn't get it. Or they couldn't see it. So the founders joined a makerspace. They took classes for the injection mold machine and the Tormach to make the mold. They sweated it out themselves to create a prototype.

They made a little mag stripe reader that plugged into the earphone/microphone jack on an iPhone. The reader converted the magnetic stripe encoding to audio tones. An app on the phone listened to those tones and converted them into the characters on the card. The app was just a fake one that would display the credit card stripe information and say, "thanks for your payment." After several months it was done.

Now the founders went to VCs with a working card reader. When they made the pitch they asked the VC for their credit card. They swiped the card and the app said, "thanks for your purchase." Now the light bulb went off and the VCs could see the power of this new solution. Something that would disrupt the whole industry.

Square was born at a makerspace.

==Oru Kayak==
High performance, origami folding kayaks for all types of paddlers. Oru kayaks are easy to transport and store, letting you explore like never before. Many prototypes were created at a makerspace according to Anton Willis, founder. Anton says they were able to move faster and make a better product because of the access to sophisticated tools at TechShop. [http://orukayak.com Oru Kayak]

==Embrace Innovations==
An India based social enterprise that develops disruptive healthcare technologies focused on reducing infant and maternal deaths in emerging markets. The team developed a blanket that is used to keep premature infants warm for several hours while they are transported to a facility with an infant incubator. The team developed prototypes in a makerspace and the chance interaction with another maker member led to the selection of a high performance polymer to fill the blanket. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace_Innovations Embrace Innovations]

As told to me by Raffi Colett:

Some Stanford students had taken a social good class. They identified a serious need. When a baby is born prematurely they need to get to an incubator quickly. In rural areas, especially in undeveloped countries, the nearest incubator can be hours away. These students developed a concept to create a blanket filled with some heat holding material that could be wrapped around a premature infant while it was transported to an incubator.

These students were working at TSMP to develop a prototype. They were puzzled over what would be the best material to use. It just happened that a polymer engineer was working on his own project at TSMP and overheard their conversation. He offered his expertise on the correct material to use. It worked.

The Embrace blanket is now used in rural India to save lives.

== Mammoth Biosciences ==

"Harnessing the diversity of nature to power the next generation of CRISPR products." Got a start at [https://biocurious.org Bio Curious]. [https://mammoth.bio Mammoth Biosciences]

==Fit3D==
A body fat measurement and fitness assessment system using a whole body 3D scanner. The scan allows body shape measurement and visualization. Developed in a makerspace.

An athlete could take a series of scans over time to see improvement in targeted areas. One could even compare their body shape to that of an idealized version of a person in their sport.

The prototype was done at TSMP when it was in San Carlos. Jim Schrempp remembers Raffie Collet and his wife were both scanned one day. [http://fit3D.com Fit3D]

==Boosted Boards==
An electric longboard for commuters. Revolutionizing the personal transportation sector. A skate boarder had a vision to change the world of personal transportation. Working on prototypes at a makerspace, he created the Boosted Board. A battery powered "long board" that can travel up to 10 miles at 30 mph on a single charge. [https://boostedusa.com/ Boosted Boards]

==Pebble Smartwatch==

It broke records with its Kickstarter campaign, but the prototype was made at a makerspace. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_(watch) Pebble] Eventually was sold to FitBit.

==URB-E==
Foldable, personal electric transportation.

URB-E noticed a problem - cities becoming more and more crowded with inefficient transit options. Infrastructure doesn't change overnight, so they designed a vehicle that saves people space, time and money and sets them up for success in a changing world. [https://urb-e.com/ URB-E]

Did a lot of prototyping and development at makerspace [https://urbanworkshop.net Urban Workshop].

==Lumio==
A desk light that unfolds from a book. The prototypes were made at a local makerspace according to Max Gunawan, Founder and creator. [http://www.hellolumio.com/ Lumio]

==Dodo Case==
A novel bamboo case for the iPad. Just 5 months after a prototype was made at a makerspace, Dodocase reached $1M in sales. President Obama had one. [https://www.dodocase.com/ Dodo Case]

According to co-founder Patrick Buckley, "TechShop was key for us to scale as quickly as we did as a business. With the iPad coming out we wanted to make a case and the only way to do that as quickly as we did was with access to tools at [a makerspace] ... I was able to learn the equipment and tweak the process before I ever had to buy my first piece of equipment."

[https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a8806/get-startup-savvy-lessons-from-the-new-manufacturing-revolution-15270850/ Popular Mechanics article]:

"Resembling a Moleskin notebook, the DODO case has exploded in popularity since debuting alongside the iPad in April 2010. Within a month, orders spiked from 10 to 900 a day. Retailers like J. Crew carry them, and President Obama keeps one on his desk.

DODOcase hasn't always had a big robot room. Or its own bookbindery. Or 25 full-time employees. When Buckley and co-founders Craig Dalton and Mark Manning started the company, it seemed more like a hobby than an assembly line. They cut bamboo on routers at their local makerspace, outsourced covers to a local bookbinder, and assembled the cases in Buckley's basement. Three years later, DODOcase has grown into a model of success for a new breed of small-scale manufacturers."

==Makerbot==
MakerBot Industries, LLC is an American desktop 3D printer manufacturer company headquartered in New York City. It was founded in January 2009 by Bre Pettis, Adam Mayer, and Zach "Hoeken" Smith to build on the early progress of the RepRap Project. It was acquired by Stratasys in June 2013. [https://www.makerbot.com/ Makerbot]

Makerbot started at NYC Resistor hackerspace.

==Type A Machines==
A 3D printer company.

Andrew Bailey, CTO, said, "The Series 1 ... was built in San Francisco right inside TechShop." Without TechShop "Type A Machines would never have come to fruition."

== 3Doodler ==
A 3D printing pen suitable for kids to use! Work done at [https://artisansasylum.com Artisans Asylum]. [https://the3doodler.com 3Doodler]

==PodPi==
PodPi is an immersive, literacy based and hands-on program to learn coding and electronics with a series of adventures. The Island of PodPi is a series of Arduino-based kits coupled with fun comic books that will inspire your child or students to learn about electronics and JavaScript coding. The engaging lessons use our own popular comic book format for hours of learning.

The company is based on Arduino classes Stephane Come, founder, had been teaching youth at a makerspace.

==Friendship Lamps==
These internet enabled lamps let people stay connected while physically apart. Reported that early work was done in a makerspace. [https://friendshiplamps.com Friendship Lamps]

==Render Goods==
Thoughtfully Curated Highly Absorbent Functional Modern Dish Towels Sustainably Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles. Started in a makerspace during the COVID pandemic. [https://www.rendergoods.com/ Render Goods] As [https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/deals-steals-earth-day-84213814 featured on Good Morning America!]

==Gimme Charge==
Gimme Charge lets you charge your phone, GPS device, tablet computer, speakers or anything else that plugs into a USB port, right from your golf cart! Simply plug in the Gimme Charge, then use your existing USB charging cable to plug in your device. You'll never have to worry about a low battery on the golf course again!

Co-Founder & VP Tyler Back can be seen working on a new product at a makerspace laser cutter.

== Forklift Simulator ==
Like a flight training simulator, but for fork lift drivers. [https://www.forklift-simulator.com Forklift Simulator]

== Ring-U ==
Small business phone systems did work at [https://www.chattlab.org/ Chatt*lab]. [https://ring-u.com Ring-U]

==8 Bit Lit==
The videogame inspired, interactive lamp for your inner geek, gamer, and child. The lamp is touch sensitive, and turns on and off by tapping the bottom. It also makes fun 8-bit sounds! [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1189253589/the-question-block-lamp 8 Bit Lit]

Adam Ellsworth, founder, is seen demoing a lamp in a makerspace.

== California Ebikes ==
Make and sell Ebike Conversion Kits and uns out of the [https://beniciamakerspace.org/ Benicia Makerspace]

== Wild Child Customs ==
Metal fabrications and custom coatings shop that was established in 2018 by Chris & Jolynn Polley. Started in the [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] makerspace.

== Minnow Tech ==
Via its low-cost technology and expert team of marine scientists, helps improve aquaculture farmers’ livelihoods while improving global food security and sustainability of marine environments. Non-invasive technology [https://www.minnowtech.com/ allows shrimp farmers to know instantly how many shrimp they have in their ponds and their biomass], allowing them to optimize their harvests and livelihoods. Member of the [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] makerspace.

==Has Bags==
Handmade bags of unique design. Often with laser cut panels. Used to develop and produce her products at a makerspace. [http://www.hasbags.com Has Bags]

==Robbie Cuthbert Furniture==

Robbie was an active maker at a local makerspace. His beautiful wooden furniture inspired many people. [https://robbycuthbert.wordpress.com/gallery/ Robby Cuthbert]

==Katie Jackson Furniture==

Katie Jackson was a cabinet maker who worked out of TSMP for a while making furniture out of reclaimed wood with a friend, Lila, that she met out here. Katie then moved back to Connecticut and is active in makerspaces back there. She published a book with plans for hand built outdoor furniture. [http://katiejacksonwoodworks.com/ Katie Jackson Woodworks]

== Evil Evil Guitars ==
[https://www.facebook.com/evilevilguitars/ Evil Evil] is a boutique luthiery studio that produces a distinct line of electric instruments that encapsulate the convergence between classic and experimental instrument design. Member of [https://www.openworksbmore.org Open Works Baltimore].

==Naked Geometry==
Intricate art work requiring specialized tools which he used at TechShop. Gyre and a group of fellow artists, including Laura Gyre, his wife and artistic partner, decided to share memberships. Then, when TechShop closed and filed for bankruptcy in late 2017, the artists of Naked Geometry acquired and refurbished their own studio space in Lawrenceville.

Read about them [https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/art-architecture/2019/06/11/Naked-Geometry-Three-Rivers-Arts-Festival-James-Gyer/stories/201906100118 in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette]

==Bird of Virtue==
Mid-century modern jewelry for men + women. Handcrafted in the USA out of American hardwoods + cast acrylics. [https://www.birdofvirtue.com/ Bird of Virtue].

Linnea Oliver, founder, says that a lot of the products are made on a laser cutter at a makerspace.

==Prawn Designs==

He was a board game geek who was tired of the Settlers of Catan tiles moving all over the place. Working with his brother, a number of prototypes were cut on the ShopBot at a local makerspace. After refining the concept they moved to a laser cutter based design that was more precise and easier to manufacture. He now sells game boards, accessories, and model train items around the world. [http://prawndesigns.com Prawn Designs]

== Single Carrot Theater ==
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Carrot_Theatre Socially relevant theater] as a form of civic engagement. [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] makerspace.

== PersonalLaserGiftsUS ==
A guy with an idea designs a laser cut holder for sandwich bags. He [https://www.etsy.com/listing/1004582806/baggie-storage-organizer-sandwich-bag puts it on Etsy] and it becomes a fabulous success.

== Ampware ==
A crank-handle charging case for the iPhone 6. [https://www.facebook.com/GetAMPWARE/ GetAMPWARE on Facebook] Created in Urban Workshop makerspace.

== Positive Image Products ==
[https://www.facebook.com/Positive-Images-Products-131364074492/ Functional Afrocentric Art]. Member of the [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] makerspace.

== Other Companies ==
We sometimes get a list of companies. We put them here until we have a chance to write a little blurb about them above.

=== Started at Dallas Makerspace ===
[https://dallasmakerspace.org/ Dallas Makerspace]
* Polyprinter

=== Started at Center of Gravity ===
[https://www.tvcog.net/ Center of Gravity]
* Vital Vio
* Evocative - Mycelium fungus based packaging

=== Started at Red Mountain Makerspace ===
[https://redmountainmakers.wildapricot.org/ Red Mountain Makerspace]
* [https://start.conserv.io/ Conserve] - Environmental monitoring tools to make sense of environmental data and to prevent damage to collections.

=== Started at Tampa Hackerspace ===
[https://tampahackerspace.com/ Tampa Hackerspace]

* Miles Space
* Tampa Deep Sea Explorers
* Intention Technology

=== Members of Open Works Baltimore ===

A touch of Gracye, jewelry

Afro Threads, apparel

Baltimore Bolts, robotics

Beam Labs

Cafe Millwork

Cheddar Certified Creations, metal fabrication

Dent Education, youth education and entrepreneurship program

Drama Mama Bookshop, bookmaking

And so many more. Contact [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] for more references.

=== Started at BioCurious ===
[https://biocurious.org Bio Curious]

* 9th Dimension Biotech, Inc. salt and drought resistant olive plants engineered for sustainability.
* Alexcel Industries LLC
* Amid Biosciences [http://amidbiosciences.com/]
* Apheleia Diagnostics --> [Now Mammoth Diagnostics: http://www.mammothdiagnostics.com/]
* Ariviya: [http://ariviya.com/]
* Aromatix Inc
* BillionToOne: [https://www.billiontoone.com/]
* Biomagnetics
* Boolean Biotech: [http://blog.booleanbiotech.com/]
* CAGE Biosciences
* Caromtech
* Chronomed Inc.: [http://www.chronomed.com]
* Esper Therapeutics, Inc.: [http://www.espertherapeutics.com]
* Etalon Diagnostics: [http://www.etalondx.com/]
* Ex Technology LLC
* Folia water: [https://www.foliawater.com/]
* Microsynbiotix: [https://www.microsynbiotix.com/]
* Nernst Engineering: [http://nernst.net/]
* Pegware: [https://www.pegware.com/]
* Proxeom: [http://www.proxeom.com/]
* Quantgene Inc.: [http://www.quantgene.com/]
* SE3D: [https://www.se3d.com/]
* The ODIN: [http://www.the-odin.com/]
* The Space Research: Company [https://tsrco.com/]
* Troner Technologies
* Vision Infinitas
* X Gen: [http://www.x-gen.us/]
* Xpedite Pharma Solutions: [http://www.xpeditepharmasolutions.com/]

=Press=
Interesting articles about the impact of makerspaces.
*[https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/04/makerspaces-are-remaking-local-economies/390807/ How Makerspaces Help Local Economies; The Atlantic]
*[https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/275329 Makerspaces The 'LEGO' of Startups; Entrepreur.com]
*[https://www.makerspaces.com/makerspaces-are-making-maker-businesses Makerspaces Are Making Better Businesses; Makerspaces.com]
*[https://www.forbes.com/sites/homaycotte/2016/02/02/how-makerspaces-are-inspiring-innovation-at-startups/ How Makerspaces are Inspiring Innovation at Startups; Forbes]

=Job Up Skill=

When a popular for-profit makerspace went bankrupt, the staff was left without jobs. Yet, the very day the shop in Redwood City, California closed a local businessman walked in saying "I'm looking for laser cutter operators;" three people went to work there. The ex-employees across the country formed a private Facebook group to share their grief over losing their jobs, and to help each other out with leads.

It turned out that these employees were sought after by other companies. They had the hands-on, I-can-do-anything attitude that employers look for. Coupled with the extensive hands on work they did as employees of the makerspace, these were great hires for all kinds of businesses. In just a few months the private Facebook group wound down as these ex-employees took jobs that were often more exciting and better paying than the one they lost.

The bottom line is that working for a makerspace can increase a person's skills and future job prospects.

Why do we need makerspaces

2026-04-24T02:34:36Z

Jschrempp: /* Single Carrot Theater */

[[Category:Makerspace]]

==Why Makerspaces?==
We believe that all people see opportunities to improve their world. From the person who envisions a new way to save premature infants, to the artisan with an ETSY store, to the person making a mini free library for their front lawn, to the person who makes cool ornaments for their own Christmas tree. All these people see something they would like to make to improve the world. We know that today many of these people lack the tools, the space, and the training to bring these improvements into the world. A makerspace is the place where people come to do all this.

The California Community College system has a very interesting initiative to create makerspaces throughout the state. They had several papers on their overall strategy, each with some well articulated information on why the country needs makerspaces. An excerpt from The Makerspace Startup Guide:

<blockquote>
The problem our economy is currently facing is a lack of eligible employees for “middle-skills” jobs, ones that require advanced training
but not necessarily a bachelor’s degree. According to the National Skills Coalition, in the next five years, middle-skill jobs will dominate nearly half
the employment market. In this digital age, technological advancements across sectors continue to create jobs that require very specific skill sets,
but many of our educational institutions are not evolving fast enough to meet this need.
</blockquote>

==How Do Makerspaces Help the economy?==
All businesses start somewhere. It used to be in a garage, the way Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard did. But in today's world there are not as many garages equipped to make things. And the very nature of what can be made has changed. In the old days equipment for making prototypes was expensive and hard to come by unless you were a $10 million business. Today that equipment is still too expensive for a personal garage, but it is cheap enough that a group of friends could buy it to share. This is where makerspaces come in.

So many great ideas have been realized in makerspaces. Some ideas have improved the life of one person, others have improved the local community, a few have changed the world. Makerspaces act as incubators for innovation. Being multi-disciplinary, a makerspace fosters the kind of broad, creative thinking that generates new economic value in the community. A number of businesses have been able to start because they had a local makerspace. On one end of the scale is Square - a billion dollar company that used a makerspace to prototype their first product and used that to raise venture capital. On the other end is HasBags, a sole proprietor selling unique handbags and other leather goods at local art festivals.

The commonality is that all these business founders had a place where their own sweat could be used to make, test, innovate, and iterate until they had a product that worked. A local makerspace in your community can light the fire of innovation and economic development.

=Companies=

Here are some real world stories of companies that started in a makerspace. If you know more about one of these stories, please add to the text, or email us and we will do it for you. Perhaps you know of another company? Add it!

==Square==
A mobile payment device and app that revolutionized the transfer of money for merchants and private persons. The first prototype device was created on an injection molding machine at a makerspace. [http://squareup.com Square]

Now a $3B company.

When they started out they had an idea: let everyone who sells thing be able to take credit cards. In the old days it cost a lot. You had to sign up a merchant bank, get a bulky credit card reader or one of those ancient slide things. Why couldn't everyone easy sign up to take a credit card?

The founders shopped the idea around but VCs just didn't get it. Or they couldn't see it. So the founders joined a makerspace. They took classes for the injection mold machine and the Tormach to make the mold. They sweated it out themselves to create a prototype.

They made a little mag stripe reader that plugged into the earphone/microphone jack on an iPhone. The reader converted the magnetic stripe encoding to audio tones. An app on the phone listened to those tones and converted them into the characters on the card. The app was just a fake one that would display the credit card stripe information and say, "thanks for your payment." After several months it was done.

Now the founders went to VCs with a working card reader. When they made the pitch they asked the VC for their credit card. They swiped the card and the app said, "thanks for your purchase." Now the light bulb went off and the VCs could see the power of this new solution. Something that would disrupt the whole industry.

Square was born at a makerspace.

==Oru Kayak==
High performance, origami folding kayaks for all types of paddlers. Oru kayaks are easy to transport and store, letting you explore like never before. Many prototypes were created at a makerspace according to Anton Willis, founder. Anton says they were able to move faster and make a better product because of the access to sophisticated tools at TechShop. [http://orukayak.com Oru Kayak]

==Embrace Innovations==
An India based social enterprise that develops disruptive healthcare technologies focused on reducing infant and maternal deaths in emerging markets. The team developed a blanket that is used to keep premature infants warm for several hours while they are transported to a facility with an infant incubator. The team developed prototypes in a makerspace and the chance interaction with another maker member led to the selection of a high performance polymer to fill the blanket. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace_Innovations Embrace Innovations]

As told to me by Raffi Colett:

Some Stanford students had taken a social good class. They identified a serious need. When a baby is born prematurely they need to get to an incubator quickly. In rural areas, especially in undeveloped countries, the nearest incubator can be hours away. These students developed a concept to create a blanket filled with some heat holding material that could be wrapped around a premature infant while it was transported to an incubator.

These students were working at TSMP to develop a prototype. They were puzzled over what would be the best material to use. It just happened that a polymer engineer was working on his own project at TSMP and overheard their conversation. He offered his expertise on the correct material to use. It worked.

The Embrace blanket is now used in rural India to save lives.

== Mammoth Biosciences ==

"Harnessing the diversity of nature to power the next generation of CRISPR products." Got a start at [https://biocurious.org Bio Curious]. [https://mammoth.bio Mammoth Biosciences]

==Fit3D==
A body fat measurement and fitness assessment system using a whole body 3D scanner. The scan allows body shape measurement and visualization. Developed in a makerspace.

An athlete could take a series of scans over time to see improvement in targeted areas. One could even compare their body shape to that of an idealized version of a person in their sport.

The prototype was done at TSMP when it was in San Carlos. Jim Schrempp remembers Raffie Collet and his wife were both scanned one day. [http://fit3D.com Fit3D]

==Boosted Boards==
An electric longboard for commuters. Revolutionizing the personal transportation sector. A skate boarder had a vision to change the world of personal transportation. Working on prototypes at a makerspace, he created the Boosted Board. A battery powered "long board" that can travel up to 10 miles at 30 mph on a single charge. [https://boostedusa.com/ Boosted Boards]

==Pebble Smartwatch==

It broke records with its Kickstarter campaign, but the prototype was made at a makerspace. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_(watch) Pebble] Eventually was sold to FitBit.

==URB-E==
Foldable, personal electric transportation.

URB-E noticed a problem - cities becoming more and more crowded with inefficient transit options. Infrastructure doesn't change overnight, so they designed a vehicle that saves people space, time and money and sets them up for success in a changing world. [https://urb-e.com/ URB-E]

Did a lot of prototyping and development at makerspace [https://urbanworkshop.net Urban Workshop].

==Lumio==
A desk light that unfolds from a book. The prototypes were made at a local makerspace according to Max Gunawan, Founder and creator. [http://www.hellolumio.com/ Lumio]

==Dodo Case==
A novel bamboo case for the iPad. Just 5 months after a prototype was made at a makerspace, Dodocase reached $1M in sales. President Obama had one. [https://www.dodocase.com/ Dodo Case]

According to co-founder Patrick Buckley, "TechShop was key for us to scale as quickly as we did as a business. With the iPad coming out we wanted to make a case and the only way to do that as quickly as we did was with access to tools at [a makerspace] ... I was able to learn the equipment and tweak the process before I ever had to buy my first piece of equipment."

[https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a8806/get-startup-savvy-lessons-from-the-new-manufacturing-revolution-15270850/ Popular Mechanics article]:

"Resembling a Moleskin notebook, the DODO case has exploded in popularity since debuting alongside the iPad in April 2010. Within a month, orders spiked from 10 to 900 a day. Retailers like J. Crew carry them, and President Obama keeps one on his desk.

DODOcase hasn't always had a big robot room. Or its own bookbindery. Or 25 full-time employees. When Buckley and co-founders Craig Dalton and Mark Manning started the company, it seemed more like a hobby than an assembly line. They cut bamboo on routers at their local makerspace, outsourced covers to a local bookbinder, and assembled the cases in Buckley's basement. Three years later, DODOcase has grown into a model of success for a new breed of small-scale manufacturers."

==Makerbot==
MakerBot Industries, LLC is an American desktop 3D printer manufacturer company headquartered in New York City. It was founded in January 2009 by Bre Pettis, Adam Mayer, and Zach "Hoeken" Smith to build on the early progress of the RepRap Project. It was acquired by Stratasys in June 2013. [https://www.makerbot.com/ Makerbot]

Makerbot started at NYC Resistor hackerspace.

==Type A Machines==
A 3D printer company.

Andrew Bailey, CTO, said, "The Series 1 ... was built in San Francisco right inside TechShop." Without TechShop "Type A Machines would never have come to fruition."

== 3Doodler ==
A 3D printing pen suitable for kids to use! Work done at [https://artisansasylum.com Artisans Asylum]. [https://the3doodler.com 3Doodler]

==PodPi==
PodPi is an immersive, literacy based and hands-on program to learn coding and electronics with a series of adventures. The Island of PodPi is a series of Arduino-based kits coupled with fun comic books that will inspire your child or students to learn about electronics and JavaScript coding. The engaging lessons use our own popular comic book format for hours of learning.

The company is based on Arduino classes Stephane Come, founder, had been teaching youth at a makerspace.

==Friendship Lamps==
These internet enabled lamps let people stay connected while physically apart. Reported that early work was done in a makerspace. [https://friendshiplamps.com Friendship Lamps]

==Render Goods==
Thoughtfully Curated Highly Absorbent Functional Modern Dish Towels Sustainably Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles. Started in a makerspace during the COVID pandemic. [https://www.rendergoods.com/ Render Goods] As [https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/deals-steals-earth-day-84213814 featured on Good Morning America!]

==Gimme Charge==
Gimme Charge lets you charge your phone, GPS device, tablet computer, speakers or anything else that plugs into a USB port, right from your golf cart! Simply plug in the Gimme Charge, then use your existing USB charging cable to plug in your device. You'll never have to worry about a low battery on the golf course again!

Co-Founder & VP Tyler Back can be seen working on a new product at a makerspace laser cutter.

== Forklift Simulator ==
Like a flight training simulator, but for fork lift drivers. [https://www.forklift-simulator.com Forklift Simulator]

== Ring-U ==
Small business phone systems did work at [https://www.chattlab.org/ Chatt*lab]. [https://ring-u.com Ring-U]

==8 Bit Lit==
The videogame inspired, interactive lamp for your inner geek, gamer, and child. The lamp is touch sensitive, and turns on and off by tapping the bottom. It also makes fun 8-bit sounds! [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1189253589/the-question-block-lamp 8 Bit Lit]

Adam Ellsworth, founder, is seen demoing a lamp in a makerspace.

== California Ebikes ==
Make and sell Ebike Conversion Kits and uns out of the [https://beniciamakerspace.org/ Benicia Makerspace]

== Wild Child Customs ==
Metal fabrications and custom coatings shop that was established in 2018 by Chris & Jolynn Polley. Started in the [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] makerspace.

== Minnow Tech ==
Via its low-cost technology and expert team of marine scientists, helps improve aquaculture farmers’ livelihoods while improving global food security and sustainability of marine environments. Non-invasive technology [https://www.minnowtech.com/ allows shrimp farmers to know instantly how many shrimp they have in their ponds and their biomass], allowing them to optimize their harvests and livelihoods. Member of the [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] makerspace.

==Has Bags==
Handmade bags of unique design. Often with laser cut panels. Used to develop and produce her products at a makerspace. [http://www.hasbags.com Has Bags]

==Robbie Cuthbert Furniture==

Robbie was an active maker at a local makerspace. His beautiful wooden furniture inspired many people. [https://robbycuthbert.wordpress.com/gallery/ Robby Cuthbert]

==Katie Jackson Furniture==

Katie Jackson was a cabinet maker who worked out of TSMP for a while making furniture out of reclaimed wood with a friend, Lila, that she met out here. Katie then moved back to Connecticut and is active in makerspaces back there. She published a book with plans for hand built outdoor furniture. [http://katiejacksonwoodworks.com/ Katie Jackson Woodworks]

== Evil Evil Guitars ==
[https://www.facebook.com/evilevilguitars/ Evil Evil] is a boutique luthiery studio that produces a distinct line of electric instruments that encapsulate the convergence between classic and experimental instrument design. Member of [https://www.openworksbmore.org Open Works Baltimore].

==Naked Geometry==
Intricate art work requiring specialized tools which he used at TechShop. Gyre and a group of fellow artists, including Laura Gyre, his wife and artistic partner, decided to share memberships. Then, when TechShop closed and filed for bankruptcy in late 2017, the artists of Naked Geometry acquired and refurbished their own studio space in Lawrenceville.

Read about them [https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/art-architecture/2019/06/11/Naked-Geometry-Three-Rivers-Arts-Festival-James-Gyer/stories/201906100118 in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette]

==Bird of Virtue==
Mid-century modern jewelry for men + women. Handcrafted in the USA out of American hardwoods + cast acrylics. [https://www.birdofvirtue.com/ Bird of Virtue].

Linnea Oliver, founder, says that a lot of the products are made on a laser cutter at a makerspace.

==Prawn Designs==

He was a board game geek who was tired of the Settlers of Catan tiles moving all over the place. Working with his brother, a number of prototypes were cut on the ShopBot at a local makerspace. After refining the concept they moved to a laser cutter based design that was more precise and easier to manufacture. He now sells game boards, accessories, and model train items around the world. [http://prawndesigns.com Prawn Designs]

== Single Carrot Theater ==
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Carrot_Theatre Socially relevant theater] as a form of civic engagement. [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] makerspace.

== PersonalLaserGiftsUS ==
A guy with an idea designs a laser cut holder for sandwich bags. He [https://www.etsy.com/listing/1004582806/baggie-storage-organizer-sandwich-bag puts it on Etsy] and it becomes a fabulous success.

== Ampware ==
A crank-handle charging case for the iPhone 6. [https://www.facebook.com/GetAMPWARE/ GetAMPWARE on Facebook] Created in Urban Workshop makerspace.

== Positive Image Products ==
[https://www.facebook.com/Positive-Images-Products-131364074492/ Functional Afrocentric Art]. Member of the [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] makerspace.

== Other Companies ==
We sometimes get a list of companies. We put them here until we have a chance to write a little blurb about them above.

=== Started at Dallas Makerspace ===
[https://dallasmakerspace.org/ Dallas Makerspace]
* Polyprinter

=== Started at Center of Gravity ===
[https://www.tvcog.net/ Center of Gravity]
* Vital Vio
* Evocative - Mycelium fungus based packaging

=== Started at Red Mountain Makerspace ===
[https://redmountainmakers.wildapricot.org/ Red Mountain Makerspace]
* Conserve - [https://start.conserv.io/] - Environmental monitoring tools to make sense of environmental data and to prevent damage to collections.

=== Started at Tampa Hackerspace ===
[https://tampahackerspace.com/ Tampa Hackerspace]

* Miles Space
* Tampa Deep Sea Explorers
* Intention Technology

=== Members of Open Works Baltimore ===

A touch of Gracye, jewelry

Afro Threads, apparel

Baltimore Bolts, robotics

Beam Labs

Cafe Millwork

Cheddar Certified Creations, metal fabrication

Dent Education, youth education and entrepreneurship program

Drama Mama Bookshop, bookmaking

And so many more. Contact [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] for more references.

=== Started at BioCurious ===
[https://biocurious.org Bio Curious]

* 9th Dimension Biotech, Inc. salt and drought resistant olive plants engineered for sustainability.
* Alexcel Industries LLC
* Amid Biosciences [http://amidbiosciences.com/]
* Apheleia Diagnostics --> [Now Mammoth Diagnostics: http://www.mammothdiagnostics.com/]
* Ariviya: [http://ariviya.com/]
* Aromatix Inc
* BillionToOne: [https://www.billiontoone.com/]
* Biomagnetics
* Boolean Biotech: [http://blog.booleanbiotech.com/]
* CAGE Biosciences
* Caromtech
* Chronomed Inc.: [http://www.chronomed.com]
* Esper Therapeutics, Inc.: [http://www.espertherapeutics.com]
* Etalon Diagnostics: [http://www.etalondx.com/]
* Ex Technology LLC
* Folia water: [https://www.foliawater.com/]
* Microsynbiotix: [https://www.microsynbiotix.com/]
* Nernst Engineering: [http://nernst.net/]
* Pegware: [https://www.pegware.com/]
* Proxeom: [http://www.proxeom.com/]
* Quantgene Inc.: [http://www.quantgene.com/]
* SE3D: [https://www.se3d.com/]
* The ODIN: [http://www.the-odin.com/]
* The Space Research: Company [https://tsrco.com/]
* Troner Technologies
* Vision Infinitas
* X Gen: [http://www.x-gen.us/]
* Xpedite Pharma Solutions: [http://www.xpeditepharmasolutions.com/]

=Press=
Interesting articles about the impact of makerspaces.
*[https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/04/makerspaces-are-remaking-local-economies/390807/ How Makerspaces Help Local Economies; The Atlantic]
*[https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/275329 Makerspaces The 'LEGO' of Startups; Entrepreur.com]
*[https://www.makerspaces.com/makerspaces-are-making-maker-businesses Makerspaces Are Making Better Businesses; Makerspaces.com]
*[https://www.forbes.com/sites/homaycotte/2016/02/02/how-makerspaces-are-inspiring-innovation-at-startups/ How Makerspaces are Inspiring Innovation at Startups; Forbes]

=Job Up Skill=

When a popular for-profit makerspace went bankrupt, the staff was left without jobs. Yet, the very day the shop in Redwood City, California closed a local businessman walked in saying "I'm looking for laser cutter operators;" three people went to work there. The ex-employees across the country formed a private Facebook group to share their grief over losing their jobs, and to help each other out with leads.

It turned out that these employees were sought after by other companies. They had the hands-on, I-can-do-anything attitude that employers look for. Coupled with the extensive hands on work they did as employees of the makerspace, these were great hires for all kinds of businesses. In just a few months the private Facebook group wound down as these ex-employees took jobs that were often more exciting and better paying than the one they lost.

The bottom line is that working for a makerspace can increase a person's skills and future job prospects.

Why do we need makerspaces

2026-04-24T02:33:27Z

Jschrempp: /* Naked Geometry */

[[Category:Makerspace]]

==Why Makerspaces?==
We believe that all people see opportunities to improve their world. From the person who envisions a new way to save premature infants, to the artisan with an ETSY store, to the person making a mini free library for their front lawn, to the person who makes cool ornaments for their own Christmas tree. All these people see something they would like to make to improve the world. We know that today many of these people lack the tools, the space, and the training to bring these improvements into the world. A makerspace is the place where people come to do all this.

The California Community College system has a very interesting initiative to create makerspaces throughout the state. They had several papers on their overall strategy, each with some well articulated information on why the country needs makerspaces. An excerpt from The Makerspace Startup Guide:

<blockquote>
The problem our economy is currently facing is a lack of eligible employees for “middle-skills” jobs, ones that require advanced training
but not necessarily a bachelor’s degree. According to the National Skills Coalition, in the next five years, middle-skill jobs will dominate nearly half
the employment market. In this digital age, technological advancements across sectors continue to create jobs that require very specific skill sets,
but many of our educational institutions are not evolving fast enough to meet this need.
</blockquote>

==How Do Makerspaces Help the economy?==
All businesses start somewhere. It used to be in a garage, the way Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard did. But in today's world there are not as many garages equipped to make things. And the very nature of what can be made has changed. In the old days equipment for making prototypes was expensive and hard to come by unless you were a $10 million business. Today that equipment is still too expensive for a personal garage, but it is cheap enough that a group of friends could buy it to share. This is where makerspaces come in.

So many great ideas have been realized in makerspaces. Some ideas have improved the life of one person, others have improved the local community, a few have changed the world. Makerspaces act as incubators for innovation. Being multi-disciplinary, a makerspace fosters the kind of broad, creative thinking that generates new economic value in the community. A number of businesses have been able to start because they had a local makerspace. On one end of the scale is Square - a billion dollar company that used a makerspace to prototype their first product and used that to raise venture capital. On the other end is HasBags, a sole proprietor selling unique handbags and other leather goods at local art festivals.

The commonality is that all these business founders had a place where their own sweat could be used to make, test, innovate, and iterate until they had a product that worked. A local makerspace in your community can light the fire of innovation and economic development.

=Companies=

Here are some real world stories of companies that started in a makerspace. If you know more about one of these stories, please add to the text, or email us and we will do it for you. Perhaps you know of another company? Add it!

==Square==
A mobile payment device and app that revolutionized the transfer of money for merchants and private persons. The first prototype device was created on an injection molding machine at a makerspace. [http://squareup.com Square]

Now a $3B company.

When they started out they had an idea: let everyone who sells thing be able to take credit cards. In the old days it cost a lot. You had to sign up a merchant bank, get a bulky credit card reader or one of those ancient slide things. Why couldn't everyone easy sign up to take a credit card?

The founders shopped the idea around but VCs just didn't get it. Or they couldn't see it. So the founders joined a makerspace. They took classes for the injection mold machine and the Tormach to make the mold. They sweated it out themselves to create a prototype.

They made a little mag stripe reader that plugged into the earphone/microphone jack on an iPhone. The reader converted the magnetic stripe encoding to audio tones. An app on the phone listened to those tones and converted them into the characters on the card. The app was just a fake one that would display the credit card stripe information and say, "thanks for your payment." After several months it was done.

Now the founders went to VCs with a working card reader. When they made the pitch they asked the VC for their credit card. They swiped the card and the app said, "thanks for your purchase." Now the light bulb went off and the VCs could see the power of this new solution. Something that would disrupt the whole industry.

Square was born at a makerspace.

==Oru Kayak==
High performance, origami folding kayaks for all types of paddlers. Oru kayaks are easy to transport and store, letting you explore like never before. Many prototypes were created at a makerspace according to Anton Willis, founder. Anton says they were able to move faster and make a better product because of the access to sophisticated tools at TechShop. [http://orukayak.com Oru Kayak]

==Embrace Innovations==
An India based social enterprise that develops disruptive healthcare technologies focused on reducing infant and maternal deaths in emerging markets. The team developed a blanket that is used to keep premature infants warm for several hours while they are transported to a facility with an infant incubator. The team developed prototypes in a makerspace and the chance interaction with another maker member led to the selection of a high performance polymer to fill the blanket. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace_Innovations Embrace Innovations]

As told to me by Raffi Colett:

Some Stanford students had taken a social good class. They identified a serious need. When a baby is born prematurely they need to get to an incubator quickly. In rural areas, especially in undeveloped countries, the nearest incubator can be hours away. These students developed a concept to create a blanket filled with some heat holding material that could be wrapped around a premature infant while it was transported to an incubator.

These students were working at TSMP to develop a prototype. They were puzzled over what would be the best material to use. It just happened that a polymer engineer was working on his own project at TSMP and overheard their conversation. He offered his expertise on the correct material to use. It worked.

The Embrace blanket is now used in rural India to save lives.

== Mammoth Biosciences ==

"Harnessing the diversity of nature to power the next generation of CRISPR products." Got a start at [https://biocurious.org Bio Curious]. [https://mammoth.bio Mammoth Biosciences]

==Fit3D==
A body fat measurement and fitness assessment system using a whole body 3D scanner. The scan allows body shape measurement and visualization. Developed in a makerspace.

An athlete could take a series of scans over time to see improvement in targeted areas. One could even compare their body shape to that of an idealized version of a person in their sport.

The prototype was done at TSMP when it was in San Carlos. Jim Schrempp remembers Raffie Collet and his wife were both scanned one day. [http://fit3D.com Fit3D]

==Boosted Boards==
An electric longboard for commuters. Revolutionizing the personal transportation sector. A skate boarder had a vision to change the world of personal transportation. Working on prototypes at a makerspace, he created the Boosted Board. A battery powered "long board" that can travel up to 10 miles at 30 mph on a single charge. [https://boostedusa.com/ Boosted Boards]

==Pebble Smartwatch==

It broke records with its Kickstarter campaign, but the prototype was made at a makerspace. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_(watch) Pebble] Eventually was sold to FitBit.

==URB-E==
Foldable, personal electric transportation.

URB-E noticed a problem - cities becoming more and more crowded with inefficient transit options. Infrastructure doesn't change overnight, so they designed a vehicle that saves people space, time and money and sets them up for success in a changing world. [https://urb-e.com/ URB-E]

Did a lot of prototyping and development at makerspace [https://urbanworkshop.net Urban Workshop].

==Lumio==
A desk light that unfolds from a book. The prototypes were made at a local makerspace according to Max Gunawan, Founder and creator. [http://www.hellolumio.com/ Lumio]

==Dodo Case==
A novel bamboo case for the iPad. Just 5 months after a prototype was made at a makerspace, Dodocase reached $1M in sales. President Obama had one. [https://www.dodocase.com/ Dodo Case]

According to co-founder Patrick Buckley, "TechShop was key for us to scale as quickly as we did as a business. With the iPad coming out we wanted to make a case and the only way to do that as quickly as we did was with access to tools at [a makerspace] ... I was able to learn the equipment and tweak the process before I ever had to buy my first piece of equipment."

[https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a8806/get-startup-savvy-lessons-from-the-new-manufacturing-revolution-15270850/ Popular Mechanics article]:

"Resembling a Moleskin notebook, the DODO case has exploded in popularity since debuting alongside the iPad in April 2010. Within a month, orders spiked from 10 to 900 a day. Retailers like J. Crew carry them, and President Obama keeps one on his desk.

DODOcase hasn't always had a big robot room. Or its own bookbindery. Or 25 full-time employees. When Buckley and co-founders Craig Dalton and Mark Manning started the company, it seemed more like a hobby than an assembly line. They cut bamboo on routers at their local makerspace, outsourced covers to a local bookbinder, and assembled the cases in Buckley's basement. Three years later, DODOcase has grown into a model of success for a new breed of small-scale manufacturers."

==Makerbot==
MakerBot Industries, LLC is an American desktop 3D printer manufacturer company headquartered in New York City. It was founded in January 2009 by Bre Pettis, Adam Mayer, and Zach "Hoeken" Smith to build on the early progress of the RepRap Project. It was acquired by Stratasys in June 2013. [https://www.makerbot.com/ Makerbot]

Makerbot started at NYC Resistor hackerspace.

==Type A Machines==
A 3D printer company.

Andrew Bailey, CTO, said, "The Series 1 ... was built in San Francisco right inside TechShop." Without TechShop "Type A Machines would never have come to fruition."

== 3Doodler ==
A 3D printing pen suitable for kids to use! Work done at [https://artisansasylum.com Artisans Asylum]. [https://the3doodler.com 3Doodler]

==PodPi==
PodPi is an immersive, literacy based and hands-on program to learn coding and electronics with a series of adventures. The Island of PodPi is a series of Arduino-based kits coupled with fun comic books that will inspire your child or students to learn about electronics and JavaScript coding. The engaging lessons use our own popular comic book format for hours of learning.

The company is based on Arduino classes Stephane Come, founder, had been teaching youth at a makerspace.

==Friendship Lamps==
These internet enabled lamps let people stay connected while physically apart. Reported that early work was done in a makerspace. [https://friendshiplamps.com Friendship Lamps]

==Render Goods==
Thoughtfully Curated Highly Absorbent Functional Modern Dish Towels Sustainably Made from Recycled Plastic Bottles. Started in a makerspace during the COVID pandemic. [https://www.rendergoods.com/ Render Goods] As [https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/shop/story/deals-steals-earth-day-84213814 featured on Good Morning America!]

==Gimme Charge==
Gimme Charge lets you charge your phone, GPS device, tablet computer, speakers or anything else that plugs into a USB port, right from your golf cart! Simply plug in the Gimme Charge, then use your existing USB charging cable to plug in your device. You'll never have to worry about a low battery on the golf course again!

Co-Founder & VP Tyler Back can be seen working on a new product at a makerspace laser cutter.

== Forklift Simulator ==
Like a flight training simulator, but for fork lift drivers. [https://www.forklift-simulator.com Forklift Simulator]

== Ring-U ==
Small business phone systems did work at [https://www.chattlab.org/ Chatt*lab]. [https://ring-u.com Ring-U]

==8 Bit Lit==
The videogame inspired, interactive lamp for your inner geek, gamer, and child. The lamp is touch sensitive, and turns on and off by tapping the bottom. It also makes fun 8-bit sounds! [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1189253589/the-question-block-lamp 8 Bit Lit]

Adam Ellsworth, founder, is seen demoing a lamp in a makerspace.

== California Ebikes ==
Make and sell Ebike Conversion Kits and uns out of the [https://beniciamakerspace.org/ Benicia Makerspace]

== Wild Child Customs ==
Metal fabrications and custom coatings shop that was established in 2018 by Chris & Jolynn Polley. Started in the [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] makerspace.

== Minnow Tech ==
Via its low-cost technology and expert team of marine scientists, helps improve aquaculture farmers’ livelihoods while improving global food security and sustainability of marine environments. Non-invasive technology [https://www.minnowtech.com/ allows shrimp farmers to know instantly how many shrimp they have in their ponds and their biomass], allowing them to optimize their harvests and livelihoods. Member of the [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] makerspace.

==Has Bags==
Handmade bags of unique design. Often with laser cut panels. Used to develop and produce her products at a makerspace. [http://www.hasbags.com Has Bags]

==Robbie Cuthbert Furniture==

Robbie was an active maker at a local makerspace. His beautiful wooden furniture inspired many people. [https://robbycuthbert.wordpress.com/gallery/ Robby Cuthbert]

==Katie Jackson Furniture==

Katie Jackson was a cabinet maker who worked out of TSMP for a while making furniture out of reclaimed wood with a friend, Lila, that she met out here. Katie then moved back to Connecticut and is active in makerspaces back there. She published a book with plans for hand built outdoor furniture. [http://katiejacksonwoodworks.com/ Katie Jackson Woodworks]

== Evil Evil Guitars ==
[https://www.facebook.com/evilevilguitars/ Evil Evil] is a boutique luthiery studio that produces a distinct line of electric instruments that encapsulate the convergence between classic and experimental instrument design. Member of [https://www.openworksbmore.org Open Works Baltimore].

==Naked Geometry==
Intricate art work requiring specialized tools which he used at TechShop. Gyre and a group of fellow artists, including Laura Gyre, his wife and artistic partner, decided to share memberships. Then, when TechShop closed and filed for bankruptcy in late 2017, the artists of Naked Geometry acquired and refurbished their own studio space in Lawrenceville.

Read about them [https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/art-architecture/2019/06/11/Naked-Geometry-Three-Rivers-Arts-Festival-James-Gyer/stories/201906100118 in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette]

==Bird of Virtue==
Mid-century modern jewelry for men + women. Handcrafted in the USA out of American hardwoods + cast acrylics. [https://www.birdofvirtue.com/ Bird of Virtue].

Linnea Oliver, founder, says that a lot of the products are made on a laser cutter at a makerspace.

==Prawn Designs==

He was a board game geek who was tired of the Settlers of Catan tiles moving all over the place. Working with his brother, a number of prototypes were cut on the ShopBot at a local makerspace. After refining the concept they moved to a laser cutter based design that was more precise and easier to manufacture. He now sells game boards, accessories, and model train items around the world. [http://prawndesigns.com Prawn Designs]

== Single Carrot Theater ==
[https://singlecarrot.com/ Socially relevant theater] as a form of civic engagement. [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] makerspace.

== PersonalLaserGiftsUS ==
A guy with an idea designs a laser cut holder for sandwich bags. He [https://www.etsy.com/listing/1004582806/baggie-storage-organizer-sandwich-bag puts it on Etsy] and it becomes a fabulous success.

== Ampware ==
A crank-handle charging case for the iPhone 6. [https://www.facebook.com/GetAMPWARE/ GetAMPWARE on Facebook] Created in Urban Workshop makerspace.

== Positive Image Products ==
[https://www.facebook.com/Positive-Images-Products-131364074492/ Functional Afrocentric Art]. Member of the [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] makerspace.

== Other Companies ==
We sometimes get a list of companies. We put them here until we have a chance to write a little blurb about them above.

=== Started at Dallas Makerspace ===
[https://dallasmakerspace.org/ Dallas Makerspace]
* Polyprinter

=== Started at Center of Gravity ===
[https://www.tvcog.net/ Center of Gravity]
* Vital Vio
* Evocative - Mycelium fungus based packaging

=== Started at Red Mountain Makerspace ===
[https://redmountainmakers.wildapricot.org/ Red Mountain Makerspace]
* Conserve - [https://start.conserv.io/] - Environmental monitoring tools to make sense of environmental data and to prevent damage to collections.

=== Started at Tampa Hackerspace ===
[https://tampahackerspace.com/ Tampa Hackerspace]

* Miles Space
* Tampa Deep Sea Explorers
* Intention Technology

=== Members of Open Works Baltimore ===

A touch of Gracye, jewelry

Afro Threads, apparel

Baltimore Bolts, robotics

Beam Labs

Cafe Millwork

Cheddar Certified Creations, metal fabrication

Dent Education, youth education and entrepreneurship program

Drama Mama Bookshop, bookmaking

And so many more. Contact [https://www.openworksbmore.org/ Open Works Baltimore] for more references.

=== Started at BioCurious ===
[https://biocurious.org Bio Curious]

* 9th Dimension Biotech, Inc. salt and drought resistant olive plants engineered for sustainability.
* Alexcel Industries LLC
* Amid Biosciences [http://amidbiosciences.com/]
* Apheleia Diagnostics --> [Now Mammoth Diagnostics: http://www.mammothdiagnostics.com/]
* Ariviya: [http://ariviya.com/]
* Aromatix Inc
* BillionToOne: [https://www.billiontoone.com/]
* Biomagnetics
* Boolean Biotech: [http://blog.booleanbiotech.com/]
* CAGE Biosciences
* Caromtech
* Chronomed Inc.: [http://www.chronomed.com]
* Esper Therapeutics, Inc.: [http://www.espertherapeutics.com]
* Etalon Diagnostics: [http://www.etalondx.com/]
* Ex Technology LLC
* Folia water: [https://www.foliawater.com/]
* Microsynbiotix: [https://www.microsynbiotix.com/]
* Nernst Engineering: [http://nernst.net/]
* Pegware: [https://www.pegware.com/]
* Proxeom: [http://www.proxeom.com/]
* Quantgene Inc.: [http://www.quantgene.com/]
* SE3D: [https://www.se3d.com/]
* The ODIN: [http://www.the-odin.com/]
* The Space Research: Company [https://tsrco.com/]
* Troner Technologies
* Vision Infinitas
* X Gen: [http://www.x-gen.us/]
* Xpedite Pharma Solutions: [http://www.xpeditepharmasolutions.com/]

=Press=
Interesting articles about the impact of makerspaces.
*[https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/04/makerspaces-are-remaking-local-economies/390807/ How Makerspaces Help Local Economies; The Atlantic]
*[https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/275329 Makerspaces The 'LEGO' of Startups; Entrepreur.com]
*[https://www.makerspaces.com/makerspaces-are-making-maker-businesses Makerspaces Are Making Better Businesses; Makerspaces.com]
*[https://www.forbes.com/sites/homaycotte/2016/02/02/how-makerspaces-are-inspiring-innovation-at-startups/ How Makerspaces are Inspiring Innovation at Startups; Forbes]

=Job Up Skill=

When a popular for-profit makerspace went bankrupt, the staff was left without jobs. Yet, the very day the shop in Redwood City, California closed a local businessman walked in saying "I'm looking for laser cutter operators;" three people went to work there. The ex-employees across the country formed a private Facebook group to share their grief over losing their jobs, and to help each other out with leads.

It turned out that these employees were sought after by other companies. They had the hands-on, I-can-do-anything attitude that employers look for. Coupled with the extensive hands on work they did as employees of the makerspace, these were great hires for all kinds of businesses. In just a few months the private Facebook group wound down as these ex-employees took jobs that were often more exciting and better paying than the one they lost.

The bottom line is that working for a makerspace can increase a person's skills and future job prospects.